


The Princess Hurricane

by bob_eclipsa_smith



Category: Star vs. The Forces Of Evil
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-15
Updated: 2017-09-24
Packaged: 2018-12-15 13:15:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 44,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11806725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bob_eclipsa_smith/pseuds/bob_eclipsa_smith
Summary: A glance into the life of cynical, slightly disturbed and cruelly misunderstood princess, Eclipsa Butterfly...and just how she came to be the feared Queen of Darkness.





	1. The Princess Hurricane and Her Future Kingdom

**Author's Note:**

> I have actually no idea what Eclipsa's middle name is, but I thought Marie sounded pretty. I do not own SVTFOE even if I love Eclipsa's character.
> 
> *at this point in the story, I had no idea that I was to fabricate Eclipsa's entire backstory, so if you're just starting, keep at it, I promise it will start to come together*

_Hurricane._

That was certainly a new one, one that elicited oddly prideful emotions deep within.

It was not a new feeling, even if her hope for future ingenious nicknames had dwindled.

She had always been labeled with those ‘insulting’ words. The princess had grown rather tired of hearing the same ones over and over and over again.

Insolent. Sarcastic. Blunt. Rebellious. Untamed.

How very boring.

To the young Eclipsa, the feeling of being scrutinized in such a manner was completely and utterly normal. And of course, it had become completely and utterly drab, plain, and unfortunately...expected.

Blah, blah, blah _responsibility_.

Blah, blah, blah _royalty_.

Sometimes, all Eclipsa wanted to do was to have real _fun_.

Complete, uninhibited, unchaperoned _fun_.

Frankly, the princess of Mewni had no desire to act as such, nor had any interest at all to employ those fanciful and utterly _dreadful_ customs that came with being _Queen_.

The mere thought made Eclipsa gag.

 _Her_. A _queen_.

It was utterly ridiculous to picture herself up there, with her two left feet and her affinity for transforming even the most perfect of perfect settings into completely destructive _chaos_ , sitting with the utmost poise and prompt. Smiling that deceptively guileless smile and plastering that stupid, _stupid_ look on her face.

The one _Mother_  wore when she was addressing the public. The very same one that replaced her usual deathly scowl that marred The Queen Mother’s features whenever she looked upon her daughter, the _hurricane._

Eclipsa Marie Butterfly. Princess of Mewni and Beloved by All.

Insert sarcastic curtsy here.

And then insert Eclipsa’s scoffing promptly afterwards.

And then… insert The Oh-So-Loved Queen Mother’s deep deep frown etching itself into her face at the simple _audacity_  of her daughter, Eclipsa.

Impudent, Unequivocal, Impulsive Princess Eclipsa.

Oh how _damn idiotic_ the people of Mewni were if they actually believed that _Eclipsa_ would reform herself into the model princess.

Into the girl with the pretty pink dresses and the diamond studded earrings. Into the girl with the perfect perfect smile on her face, as though painted there like a happy-go-lucky grin upon a doll’s porcelain face.

Into the girl with the dainty little curls and the sparkling brown eyes that were quite reminiscent of warm melted chocolate, set in a patricianly pale face, round cheeks and the rosiest lush lips that never _ever_ upturned into a sadistic smirk.

Eclipsa wanted to laugh.

Nope. Totally not happening.

When she ascended that throne, Mewni would go to hell.

When she, The Princess Hurricane, ascended the throne of _Mewni_ , she would make all those god damn stupid customs fuck themselves. She would make those pretty little princesses of the past wet themselves with the crushing power of the magic she wielded.

She would show her _precious_ _subjects_ that Eclipsa Marie Butterfly was a force of the utmost darkness, a whirling storm masquerading in the shape of an innocent little girl with warm mahogany eyes and a nest of abundant curls. She would show them that underneath the perfect looks, those chocolate brown eyes could cut straight into a soul and make that person wish they were dead.

She would show them that her perfect facade was just that.

A facade.

She would make them see the _true_ Eclipsa Marie Butterfly.

Let her show them what a hurricane _really_ looked like.

She would end all persecution of the so-called _monsters_ and allow them full reign of Mewni.

Hell, Eclipsa would even allow them to eat her oh-so _beloved_ subjects if the monsters desired to.

Because Mewmans were no better than the monsters they maimed and persecuted.

Slaughtered and killed and slaughtered and killed once more over.

Over and over and over and over again.

Made Eclipsa wonder…

just who were the real monsters here?

The Mewmans or the monsters?

The Queen Mother or her insolent little daughter, The Princess Hurricane?

Honestly, Eclipsa, the oh so wise and benevolent princess she was, believed it was the opposite than what was written in those old, musty, dusty books ( _and she had read them all cover to cover countless times._ ).

When Eclipsa Marie Butterfly ascended the throne of Mewni, she would make sure that the monsters would have a say in matters. She would make sure that she, the beloved queen of Mewni, was more revered and respected than all those other posers thrown together.

Because, hell, if the world went to chaos, then just so much the better, right?

After all, she wasn't called _hurricane_ for nothing, was she?


	2. The Princess Hurricane and Her Beloved Tutor

She wasn't usually this willing to run about the castle, acting as an errand girl, but for Glossaryk, Eclipsa would do anything.

He had been the only one out of many who had actually looked past her many, many flaws ( _as_ _The_ _Oh_ - _So_ - _Perfect_ _Queen_ _Mother_ _called_ _them_ ). He was the only one out of many who was able to see Eclipsa as a _person_ , instead of a pesky little fly that flitted about the castle, needing to be swatted.

So when Glossaryk had discovered this sickly sweet brown treat that he called _pudding_ , of course Eclipsa was going to search the entirety of the monstrous castle in search of the _pudding_.

After all, Glossaryk was going to teach her new magic after!

She clapped her hands together in anticipation, curling her red lips into a delighted grin.

Through the castle little Eclipsa trotted, making sure to check every single room she deemed an appropriate residence for the pudding.

The Princess Hurricane bore the odd looks cast her way by various servants and the disapproving whispers she overheard from her parent’s _royal_ _advisors_.

Like _they_ were better than _she_ was.

When she became queen, Eclipsa would turn them all to dust.

She pressed her heels into the rug, stopping herself in her tracks. Her head whipped around to look at the stupid posers.

Hmm.

What an utterly _splendid_ idea.

Eclipsa snickered, savoring the rather glorious images of her oh-so-high-and-mighty advisors dust particles withering away, leaving blackened shadows of their once panicked silhouettes on the ground.

Perhaps The Hurricane would leave them there for her to admire after a particularly hard day of managing the kingdom of Mewni.

Well...maybe if she ever learned how to disintegrate people into ashes. Glossaryk had only begun to allow her to _levetato_ apples as of late.

But she didn't complain, even if she knew she was more capable of more advanced spells than simply making apples fly ( _hell, she had even managed to break a table in half without Glossaryk’s knowledge. Though Eclipsa was pretty sure The Queen Mother had her suspicions on just who committed such a monstrous act based on the not-so-conspicuous glares she sent her daughter whenever she brought home a new wooden table_ ).

The princess shuffled her feet disapprovingly. Why couldn't he teach her the  ~~~~ _cool_ spells? The ones that could have her most abhorred enemies writhing in inspeakable and unimaginable pain at one simple word?

It just wasn't fair!

Eclipsa was Glossaryk’s _favorite_! His favorite _ever_! He said so!

So why was she stuck making stupid apples fly stupidly? 

It was so frustrating!

Eclipsa frowned. Wasn't there something else she had to do?

Oh! Right! Glossaryk’s pudding!

Well, even if he didn't teach her the fun spells yet, he was still teaching her magic. 

And he was her favorite teacher. The only one who didn't call her boring names that were supposed to 'mold her into a prim and proper princess'.

Thanks so much for giving the royal tutors the notions, Mother. You just sunk pitifully lower on the cool spectrum.

She began the purposeful skipping yet again, making sure to flip the royal advisors a rather dirty gesture on her way to the kitchen. On a not-so-elegant, nor proper whim, Eclipsa stuck her tongue out petulantly at the advisor’s backs, promising them and herself that one day, they would learn the error of deeming themselves higher than _her_.

The princess pushed the door to the royal kitchen open, peering curious dark eyes, and her head of abundant teal curls inside. The cooks didn't seem to notice Eclipsa's entrance; perhaps too busy creating the _pudding_.

Well, if Glossaryk liked it, then it must have been the most heavenly treat in existence.

Eclipsa couldn't wait to try it ( _with_ _Glossaryk’s_ _approval_ _of_ _course_ ).

After a few moments of sly padding through the kitchen and a few more precious moments of scrounging the fridges, Eclipsa managed to find a single precious cup of the brown slop that Glossaryk called pudding. The princess yelled out a delighted squeal, eliciting some startled glances and some snickers from the cooks who had apparently been going through a monotonous day.

After all, it was sure a sight to be seen when The Princess Hurricane was able to sneak deftly into the kitchen without accidentally or purposefully destroying everything and anything in her wake.

Eclipsa clasped the pudding cup protectively in her hands, and after snatching one more ( _she_ **_said_** _she_ _wanted_ _to_ _try_ _it!_ ), the princess hiked up her burgundy skirts and ran from the kitchen to her bedroom where Glossaryk waited patiently.

Eclipsa may or may not have knocked over a priceless Butterfly family heirloom off the shelf on her way there, shattering it into a countless amount of infantile shards.

_Oops_. Her bad. So, so sorry. Blah, blah, blah. It would never _ever_ happen again.

Ugh. Feigning remorse was so utterly pointless.

The princess quite nearly forgot about that oh-so-pressing situation when she pushed open the doors to her bedroom with a characteristically boisterous flourish.

As though Glossaryk knew all that transpired, he raised a single brow, odd magenta eyes regarding Eclipsa with a strangely dispassionate sort of amusement. A blue hand gestured indolently to where Eclipsa's arms strangled the poor pudding cups.

“I see you got the pudding cups, Eclipsa. Shall we begin with something new?”

Eclipsa's lips turned upwards into a sadistic smirk. “Can we learn how to disintegrate stuff today, Glossaryk?”

A second eyebrow rose up to join the first, and then Glossaryk gestured to the pudding cups. “Eat your pudding, princess. Then we'll see.”

Eclipsa's smirk stretched further across her face, becoming more of an affectionate smile. She knew there was a reason she liked Glossaryk.

The Princess Hurricane handed her tutor a pudding cup, and then proceeded to eat her own, a lingering smile of contented anticipation upon her face.

The brown slop was _almost_ as delicious as a Snookers bar.

_Almost_ being the key word.


	3. The Princess Hurricane and The Queen Mother

Eclipsa looked at her mother.

Her mother, Queen Hekatia, stared unflinchingly back.

Eclipsa narrowed her eyes, growing increasingly irritated with the lack of speaking. The Queen Mother had called her down to the throne room for a reason; why in hell was she just standing there motionless and voiceless like one of those pointless statues in the royal gardens?

 _Honestly_. The audacity of The Queen Mother.

Hekatia's pale blue eyes sharpened, and narrowed into slits, beginning to uncannily resemble the sharpest ice chips. As though she could easily _sense_ her insolent daughter's boredom and unwillingness to be in such close proximity to her. Hekatia’s maroon painted lip curled into a deep deep scowl, exposing unusually sharp and pristine canines.

Eclipsa rolled her eyes, undaunted by her mother's usually overpowering presence. “Was there a reason you called me down here Heka-”

The pale blue ice chips narrowed, and The Princess Hurricane impudently corrected her mistake, giving a sarcastic curtsy as a mock apology. “My apologies, _Mother_. Was there something you needed?”

Hekatia's burgundy lips trained into a slim, unimpressed line as she stared down the difficult princess, Eclipsa Marie. “Actually, yes. There was a reason. Did you want to hear it, or would you rather just go running off painting the royal walls with melted chocolate again?”

Eclipsa snickered; she simply couldn't help it. Oh, The Queen Mother never ceased to amuse Eclipsa with her undying wit and hopelessly snarky commentary.

Hekatia's pale blue eyes flashed indignantly, and the prim mask that she concealed her temper with began to crack. “Are you finding this _funny_ , Eclipsa Marie?!”

Eclipsa merely laughed harder; it was a rare moment indeed when The Queen Mother's unyielding mask began to peel away, leaving behind a true force of anger almost as strong as her own.

Eclipsa was one of the few people who was able to elicit such strong emotions from Hekatia, and boy did she take pride in it. There was a warm feeling of pride that came with making others bend to her will, a haughtiness that only showed itself when Eclipsa was able to render others completely and utterly _vulnerable_.

And now Hekatia’s mask was in ruins, broken into millions upon millions of metaphorical porcelain infantile shards.

How _delightful_!

Eclipsa wiped a tear from her eye with one flourish of her hand, unaffected by Hekatia's oh-so-evident anger. “Yes, I am finding this to be immensely funny, Mother. I find chocolate pudding to be quite a good edition to the castle walls,” Dark lashes fluttered upon pale eyelids, mocking innocence. “Don't you think?”

Hekatia fumed, her face blushing a deep red. The purple marks on her cheeks glowed with an unusually deep power.

Wow. Eclipsa must have made The Queen Mother _super_ mad.

She smirked, inwardly patting herself on the back. _Excellent_.

“Eclipsa Marie! Chocolate pudding is most certainly not a wall ornament! I have told you many, many times and I am getting tire-”

Eclipsa interrupted with an indolent yawn, dispassionately extending a hand outwards to check her pristine nails. “Yeah, yeah, Mother. I've heard it all before. ‘ _Eclipsa Marie! You are an insolent, reckless bother that will never ever become a good queen! Eclipsa Marie! Your manners are atrocious! When will you ever learn never to eat Snookers bars in the royal throne room!?'_ ” She rolled her dark eyes, oblivious to the increasing rage. “Seriously, Mother. I know. I know.”

Hekatia pursed her lips further, and grew more and more beet red. To The Princess Hurricane, her mother was beginning to resemble an overly ripe tomato.

Eclipsa crossed her arms, staring impassionately up at The Queen Tomato. “Wasn't there a reason you sent me down here? It wasn't just to _scrutinize_ me again was it? ‘Cause if it was, I'm going to my room.”

Hekatia blinked in bewilderment, as though she had completely forgotten her train of thought. Eclipsa wouldn't put the notion entirely behind her; she did have that effect on people. The Queen Mother’s face gradually returned to normal, and the shards of ice that were her eyes melted a bit. When she spoke, it was in the voice of a queen, and not that of an exasperated mother dealing with her daughter, chaos incarnate. “Oh, yes. Eclipsa Marie, you are coming to be fifteen years of age. Glossaryk has already been teaching you magic,” Hekatia gestured to the purple umbrella clasped in Eclipsa’s hands. “But now I believe it is high time to be searching for a suitor. As future queen…”

Eclipsa's very heart stopped, and the umbrella clattered to the floor.

Her mahogany eyes widened, and her cheeks flushed. Getting _married_?! A _suitor_?!

Getting _married_?!

Eclipsa shook her head, her haughty attitude vanished at this simple sentence, exposing a frightened girl. “ _Suitor_?” She squeaked in a voice that did not accurately resemble The Princess Hurricane.

Hekatia's eyes gleamed vindictively, as though relieved she had finally caught her daughter off guard, rather than have Eclipsa dance verbal circles around her. The Queen Mother clasped her hands proudly, her maroon painted lips curling into a triumphant, mirthless smirk. “Yes, Eclipsa Marie,” she drawled deliberately. “A _suitor_. A _king_ of Mewni to rule by your side. You didn't think you were going to take care of Mewni alone, did you?”

Eclipsa's eyes flashed dangerously, anger seeping into her at her mother's audacity to use her words against her. The princess crossed her arms, and stomped her foot petulantly, before running off. She conveniently ignored the calls of Hekatia behind her, for if she didn't, she would most probably had taken her anger out on her.

Not that Eclipsa didn't want that, but rules were rules, and killing The Queen Mother would not be taken lightly.

Her lips pulled into another devious smirk, and Eclipsa's hands rubbed together like a maniacal villain from a storybook.

Well, perhaps the most intricate of rules were not to be trifled with, but those less important ones were fair game.

Time to paint the grandma room with some of Hekatia's _favorite_ things!

And maybe a bucket of red paint would be fitting as well.

Let Eclipsa show Mother that she was fully capable of running Mewni by herself.

She was powerful, vindictive and stubborn to the bone.

All marks of a splendid queen in her opinion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know where I'm going with this, but I'm having fun with young Eclipsa Marie. I may continue and I may not.
> 
> Also, I do not own Hekatia Butterfly. I simply looked through a bunch of OC queens that someone created and thought that Hekatia the Necromancer would be the most appropriate choice for Eclipsa's mom. All credit goes to jgss0109 on deviant art. That artwork is amazing and I am in love with all those characters.


	4. The Princess Hurricane and The Forest of Certain Death

It wasn't called The Forest of Certain Death for nothing.

It was the most infamous of forests, the most foreboding place in all of Mewni to some.

To any regular Mewman, The Forest of Certain Death was an unwanted dark stain upon the otherwise spotless dimension. It was a plague, a pestilence, an itch that no matter how hard it was scratched, would simply not go away.  
It was the epitome of death, a place so dreaded and so utterly feared that no Mewman dared to enter.

Well… except for one.

One who was able to relate to the dark forest and its cryptic ways.

Someone else who was treated as an unwanted dark stain upon the otherwise spotless dimension of Mewni. Another seen as a plague, a pestilence, an itch that no matter how hard it was scratched, would simply not go away.

But where the Forest of Certain Death was a foreboding dark shadow creeping along the outskirts of Mewni, the other was an annoyance to the inside, a whirling form of vindictively stubborn energy that refused to yield.

More accurately, a _hurricane_.

The Princess Hurricane and The Forest of Certain Death were two similarly placed souls. Both wrongfully accused of evil and both misunderstood spirits.

At least, that was the truth according to the young Eclipsa Butterfly.

The Forest Where None Dared Go was a sanctum of aspirations to her as much as it was the infamous stain of Mewni to others.

If Eclipsa was feeling rather down, she would merely retreat to her sanctuary. For no Mewmans dared to follow her into the darkness, no criticizing voice of Hekatia would make it past the gnarly tree limbs and the natural barriers of the blackened vines. No nicknames, no rules, no suitors, no _perfect_ _perfect_ Princess Eclipsa Marie Butterfly.

Here in The Forest of Certain Death, Eclipsa was free to be herself, no matter just how deranged and bizarre that person was to the Mewmans.

Here, Eclipsa was not the Princess of Mewni.

Here, Eclipsa was the Princess of Darkness, the Sole Conquerer of the Forest Where None Dared Go.

The monsters here were kind, even if ugly to some Mewmans. The monsters Eclipsa came across always seemed to be immensely more friendly than the critiquing Mewmans that called her a _plague_ , a _curse_ , a reckless _bother_ that would never live up to The Glorious Queen Mother's standards.

A _suitor_. Ugh!!!

Hekatia was out of her damn mind if she believed that Eclipsa _Marie_ would yield to another, would submit some of her future authority to a man, as an _equal_.

The young princess crossed her arms, huffing petulantly as she made her way through the thick brambles and winding trees that never seemed to grow leaves. As though the forest empathized with her pain, the trees cleared a pathway for her, allowing the young Eclipsa to pass without incident.

“Stupid Mother.”

An irate kick sent an unfortunate rock flying.

“Stupid Mewni.”

Another rock joined the first.

“Stupid, _stupid_ Eclipsa _Marie_.”

Lips curled into an indignant scowl as she processed her _perfect_ _perfect_ name.

“It's _Eclipsa_!!! Just _Eclipsa_!!! _Ugh_!!!”

The irritated shouts bounced off of the abundance of blackened plant life, echoes surrounding Eclipsa mockingly. As though the forest was laughing at her.

The Princess Hurricane scoffed loudly, and resumed her pointless trek through her forest, until the sky became as dark as the woods around her, and the only light available came from the glowing purple disk on her wand. The light emanated didn't do wonders for Eclipsa either, for its eerie purple glow wasn't exactly encouraging.

Even if Eclipsa didn't want to admit it, she felt the unfamiliar fear creeping in as she ventured further and further into The Forest of Certain Death, further and further into an area that was unfamiliar even to the ambitious princess. She wrung her hands nervously, suddenly not feeling all too gleeful about conquering The Forest of Certain Death. Did she even conquer it? Eclipsa wasn't sure anymore. She certainly had never wandered this far, and certainly had never been gone this long.

Perhaps Hekatia was worried about her.

Eclipsa remembered the ice chips of her eyes shining indignantly at her daughter, burgundy lips pulled up into a hated scowl. Eclipsa immediately discredited the foolish notion that employed her mother worrying for her safety.

No. The Queen Mother didn't care about Eclipsa.

She only cared about _Eclipsa_ _Marie_. A girl that she hoped existed. A childish fantasy.

No. Hekatia didn't miss Eclipsa at all.

Who would ever miss 'Just Eclipsa', anyways? She was just a liability. An unwanted little scoundrel that did whatever she could to get attention.

Who would ever love 'Just Eclipsa'?

The young princess wiped a stray tear from her cheek, giving a small sniffle before she plopped to the ground, pulling her knees to her chest.

If light had made its way into the darkness that was the heart of the forest, one would not see The Princess Hurricane. One would see a simple girl, oddly lost and small and helpless, all traces of her pride vanished, leaving behind a vulnerable child.

It was growing steadily colder, and Eclipsa's ears strained to hear someone familiar, a call, a whistle, screams of panic, her name. Even _Eclipsa_ _Marie_.

_Anything_ to prove that she wasn't as alone as she felt.

But no one came. And Eclipsa was alone.

No royal advisors, no cooks, no Glossaryk, no Mother. Not even Celia noticed Eclipsa's clandestine disappearance.

For the first time in a long while, Eclipsa felt completely and utterly helpless. A mere Mewman in an area of darkness and bitterness and foreboding tension of the unknown.

She took a deep breath when hearing absolutely nothing, and lied down upon the floor, watching the light of the wand glow dimly. The purple glow revealed the rocks she had kicked earlier, casting ghoulish elongated shadows behind them. With a trembling hand, Eclipsa flipped them over and over again, trying to distract herself from this overwhelming feeling of dread that was unfamiliar to her.

After many moments of feigning bravery, and allowing herself to breathe easier, The Princess Hurricane’s eyes shut, and she fell asleep on the cold hard ground with nothing but her wand’s glowing light and some annoying bugs flitting about her head of curls to keep her company.

The next morning was different.

Where the princess expected to awaken to gnarly, spindly tree branches, cold, hard ground with sparse light beams penetrating the forest, she instead found herself sprawled awkwardly at the edge of the forest.

Eclipsa sat up, rubbing her eyes to ensure she wasn't hallucinating. Sure enough, the dark forest sat in the same place as it always had been, its blackened trees regarding her impassively. And before her was the kingdom of Mewni, the sun shining high above the elegant castle.

The Princess Hurricane let out a relieved sigh.

She had never been so happy to see that damn castle in her life.

But wait…

Who brought her out?

Eclipsa turned back to look at the abundant trees, searching for anything that might have been responsible for her rescuing. But the trees and the darkness retained their mystique, and they gave away no answers.

Eclipsa frowned and then started to make her way back to the castle, where her mother stood outside, an unusually frantic expression upon her face. When her ice blue eyes met Eclipsa's, they softened in relief and The Queen Mother did something that was simply unheard of.

She smiled.

She smiled at her daughter, The Princess Hurricane, and quite nearly sprinted up the hill to meet her. And then Queen Hekatia pulled Eclipsa into her arms, holding the girl tightly to her chest. Eclipsa, stunned as ever, stood frozen in her mother's grasp, the familiar scent of lavender and herbs washing over her.

“Oh, Eclipsa! Don't ever _do_ that!!!” She pulled back, keeping a firm hold on her daughter’s shoulders. Eclipsa watched her in shocked awe, noticing for the first time that her mother's eyes shone with barely contained tears. “Don’t you know how _worried_ I was?”

Eclipsa's mouth dropped agape, and she shut it before opening it again.

“You...you were worried?”

Hekatia's breath hitched in surprise and outrage. “Of _course_ I was worried, Eclipsa! You're my only daughter and my job is to protect you!! Obviously, I've done a horrible, _horrible_ job.”

The words came tumbling out without Eclipsa's approval. “Yes, you are rather horrible at looking after me.”

Hekatia laughed, startling Eclipsa into silence once more, and brought her daughter into another hug.

This time, Eclipsa accepted it readily at finally being offered something long since denied to her.

Something she didn't realize she had been missing until this fleeting moment.

Something that made Eclipsa's ( _not Eclipsa Marie, not that insolent little princess, not that unfeeling girl...Just Eclipsa's)_ abandoned heart flourish with acceptance.

The simplest way to express affection: touch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looks like I'm doing yet another drabble.


	5. The Princess Hurricane and The Hat

“Stop squirming, princess. It will only make things more difficult.”

“That's supposed to be the point, Celia.”

“You're not at all helping.”

“Neither are you, Celia.”

The irate servant pulled the corset taught, eliciting a squeal from Eclipsa, and an annoyed glare. Dark eyes gleamed indignantly at the smug girl. Why in hell was everyone against her? She didn't do anything wrong...did she?

“What was that for?” Eclipsa demanded.

Celia’s face betrayed nothing except for a small barely perceptible smirk, and her attention remained trained on Eclipsa's dress.

The princess huffed, allowing a streak of bitterness to encroach her voice. “Fine. Ignore me like always.”

Celia continued tying the corset, only flicking her gaze to the princess. “Eclipsa Marie-”

“ _Eclipsa._ "

A small smile. “Eclipsa. You know what this is about, don't you? This is your royal ball that Queen Hekatia is throwing to help you find a suitor. Don't take your anger out on me, miss. I'm only trying to transform you into a lovely princess.” She let go, stepping back to retrieve a mirror. “And now I have.”

Eclipsa rolled her eyes instinctively as she gazed upon this unfamiliar familiar creature staring back at her. Dark eyes lined with black glittered bewitchingly within her pale face, and the red spade marks upon her cheeks glowed. Eclipsa could easily see the remnants of the dirty scowls she threw other's way, as well as the familiarity of her lopsided smile, but it was as if Celia had refined her, created something entirely new out of something entirely familiar. 

Eclipsa was still clumsy, blunt, insolent Eclipsa, but Celia had sharpened the dull edges, turning Eclipsa into an enchanting force of the utmost poise and mystique.

Celia smirked as though she could see the inner struggle roiling inside of The Princess Hurricane. 

Good? Bad?

Appropriately Pretty? Too much?

Pride? Feelings?

Herself? A stranger?

In the end, Eclipsa thanked her favorite witty servant before Celia exited, and then went back to admire herself in the mirror, testing a few experimental twirls to see the maroon dress bloom girlishly underneath her.

And then… she stopped and looked again.

Perched atop her head of curls was a golden crown, bejeweled with diamonds, rubies, amethysts and jade.

Eclipsa frowned, suddenly not at all liking her new look. Since when did Celia think that a _crown_ would be a good edition to her outfit? It wasn’t Eclipsa at all. Maybe it was _Eclipsa_ _Marie_ , but Eclipsa wasn't her. 

Nope. This so wasn't happening.

She tossed the princess crown off her head, throwing it indolently to the side. Went back to look in the mirror again.

Ugh. Now something was missing!

The Princess Hurricane ransacked her room, pulling dressers out of drawers without a care, whacking various items of unimportance onto the floor. An earring here, a scarf there, miscellaneous old toys strewn about like war time casualties. Only when her room resembled an _actual_ hurricane site, Eclipsa finally found something to complete her outfit.

She snatched it from her closet, walking back to her mirror to place it atop her head in place of the golden crown.

The burgundy hat fit nicely, matching her dress perfectly.

It gave her an aura of intrigue, a feeling that could not be beaten by a stupid gold crown. Eclipsa took the time to accurately place the hat, shrouding her face in darkness with the hat’s wide brim.  
The eyes under the hat glittered darkly, her burgundy painted lips standing out in stark contrast against her pale skin. If one looked closely, they would almost assume that Eclipsa’s enchantingly dark eyes glowed with a nearly existing pulsing light.

Not only did Eclipsa look more mature, but she also looked like _herself_.

The Princess of Darkness clapped her hands together in newfound delight and skipped in a most unladylike way to the throne room, the burgundy hat perched dutifully upon her head.

The Queen Mother would probably not approve of her choice in fashion, but when had that ever stopped Eclipsa?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I'm going to shape these pointless little one shots into a complete story. I want to capture all that happens in Eclipsa's life before her untimely demise. Yay! I'm having so much fun writing these and thank you sooooooo much if you decided to read it!!


	6. The Princess Hurricane and Sir Thomas The Annoyingly Persistent

Under any other circumstances and with any other princess, this upcoming royal ball would be one to make a heart stop in nervousness. But for Eclipsa, it was simply another way for Hekatia to showcase Princess Eclipsa Marie to the world.

And considering _that_ , Eclipsa was determined to make this ball the most horrendous anyone had ever seen.

After all, they didn't call her The Hurricane for nothing now did they?

The young princess straightened her hat, placing feathers she plucked from dead birds and twigs from the Forest of Certain Death in the ribbon tied expertly around it.

She smirked, and tried to hold in her bubbling laughter.

She looked like a prissy gothic _mom_!!!

Oohh, The Queen Mother was certainly going to get a kick out of this one.

How long until guests began to arrive? Ten minutes?

_Perfect_. This ball was going to be a blast.

\--  
\--

Seven o’clock arrived rather quickly, and soon enough, the royal guests ( _snobs_ ) were beginning to arrive. At the moment, the princess Eclipsa was enjoying the entire ordeal from her position on the crystal chandelier.

Honestly, watching Hekatia run about in a panic while her daughter remained absent was quite an amusing sight to behold. Eclipsa didn't understand exactly just how oblivious these royal snobs could be to her current predicament.

Boy were they dumb.

With a smile that was neither kind nor malicious, the princess took a bite of her chocolate bar, watching with curiosity as some stray crumbs fell…

…and landed directly upon The Queen Mother's head.

Hekatia's head snapped up as though mother's intuition was suddenly telling her directly where Eclipsa was located. Her blue eyes trained on the Snookers bar wielding princess, and hardened into the ice daggers that the hurricane was oh-so-accustomed to seeing when The Queen Mother was particularly angry at her.

Eclipsa's chocolatey smile grew, and she gave a simple wave. Hekatia shook her head irately and pointed a particularly insistent finger down to the ground before looking about her nervously.

Eclipsa feigned innocence, even though the message was quite clear: The Queen Mother wanted Eclipsa _down_ and she wanted her down _now_. The Princess Hurricane took another bite of her Snookers bar, deliberately allowing spare crumbs to fall onto Hekatia's pale pink head of pristinely styled hair.

She fumed with anger, and pointed _the_ _finger_ again. Eclipsa rolled her eyes, and used her wand to make the lights flicker briefly. Hekatia’s face flushed an indignant red and Eclipsa smirked at her, pointing the glowing wand to the perfectly set up buffet of food.

Hekatia went pale.

And then the chocolate cake exploded into brown goop that covered the walls and the not so oblivious guests’ intricate apparel.

Eclipsa smiled brightly, clasping the purple umbrella in between her gloved hands. “Hello everyone!” She chirped, flashing a toothy grin to the many faces now regarding her with a mixture of reverent and distrust. Eclipsa went on unflinching, conveniently ignoring her mother's death glare. “My name is Eclipsa Butterfly, future _queen_ of Mewni. It's _such_ an _honor_ to have you all at my house for this _magnificent_ party that The Queen Mother put on for me,” Eclipsa tilted her hat in mocking politeness at her snobby guests. “Enjoy the rest of your evening!”

Silence.

Eclipsa took another deliberate bite of her chocolate bar.

Hekatia boiled.

_Wow_ , this party was going _so_ _much_ better than Eclipsa had hoped!

\--  
\--

It turns out, this party wasn't going as well as Eclipsa had hoped.

The servants had immediately gotten to cleaning the chocolate cake off the walls, sporting an expression that Eclipsa clearly read as exasperation and annoyance for having to clean up yet another of The Princess Hurricane’s messes.

Hekatia had absconded into her bedroom, leaving Eclipsa to run the _entire thing by herself_.

Seriously?! _That_ was her punishment?

So not fair. She was only having a little fun.

Currently, Eclipsa was by the disastrous remains of the chocolate cake, picking through it and eating it with her fingers. The royals around her danced to some stupid Mewman song, every so often casting Eclipsa an uncertain look.

Eclipsa wasn't perturbed by it; she usually had that effect on people. With a chocolatey hand, she tossed her curls flamboyantly, giving the lookers an uncaring wave.

“Do you always explode your cake before eating it?”

Eclipsa turned, amused and infuriated by the audacity of whomever was speaking to _The_ _Princess_ _Eclipsa_ in such a manner.

She was immediately disappointed to find that the perpetrator was a scrawny little boy, no older than her age of fifteen. Curious but calculating emerald eyes studied Eclipsa, from the chocolate laced curls, to the hat perched atop her head. Eclipsa wasn't exactly sure why, but something about the way this odd little boy stared at her made Eclipsa extremely uncomfortable.

She masked it effortlessly with brusqueness, crossing her arms protectively ( _but_ _curtly_ ) across her chest. “So what if I do? What's it to _you_ , anyways?”

The boy smiled slightly, as if this response was exactly what he was expecting from Eclipsa. Eclipsa internally scoffed. She _wasn't_ that predictable.

The boy’s head dipped in an affirming nod, his carrot orange hair ruffling with the motion. “I take that as an introduction. My name’s Thomas. And I am delighted to meet you, Princess Eclipsa Marie.”

Eclipsa corrected him absentmindedly. “It's just Eclipsa.”

Thomas’ lips pulled up in a smirk. “Of course, _Just_ _Eclipsa_. My apologies.”

Eclipsa stared this _Thomas_ down, becoming increasingly irritated with his ever constant presence. Her foot tapped with both uncharacteristic nervousness and indignancy. “So was there something you wanted, Thomas?”

The smirk widened, exposing pale teeth. “Well I was hoping to offer you a dance, but you seemed so content to be by this defeated cake, so I wasn't sure you'd like to dance.”

Eclipsa blinked. Dancing with Sir Thomas The Annoyance seemed about as appealing as sticking her face into a pile of daggers. “I don't dance.” She replied shortly, sticking a gloved hand in the chocolate cake and shoving the handful into her mouth.

_Amen. Done. Leave, Thomas._

But he didn't. Sir Thomas The Bother stayed directly where he was, watching Eclipsa eat her cake with something resembling amusement. The Princess Hurricane wasn't sure, but she thought she heard a small chuckle.

Being Eclipsa, she immediately called him out on it, dark eyes flashing dangerously. “Are you _laughing_ at me?”

“No! I'm merely taken aback by your beauty.”

Eclipsa's eyes narrowed as the boy annoyance let out another snicker. A chocolate covered hand pointed to him irately, stabbing him none too kindly in his bony chest. “Was that _sarcasm_?”

“Perhaps, Princess Just Eclipsa.”

Eclipsa fumed, stomping her foot petulantly. “Sarcasm’s my thing!”

Thomas’ annoying smirk grew even more annoying. Eclipsa wanted to punch him. “Well it can't just be your thing. Sarcasm’s universally renowned.”

Eclipsa shoved another mouthful of chocolate cake in her mouth, regarding the smiling Thomas impassively. “Why. Are. You. Still. Here?”

“I told you. I wanted to see if you'd like to dance.”

The princess huffed, sending another death glare towards the unaffected Thomas. She sighed, turning slyly on her heel and walking briskly away from this stubbornly persistent boy.

He wanted to dance with _her_?

Who in their right mind would want to voluntarily spend time with clumsy, rude and petty Eclipsa?

He didn't even know her; and there was no way in hell she was allowing him to get any closer.

A hand snatched her own, yanking the princess unceremoniously around to face the young boy yet again. He wore a startlingly sheepish expression, a slight rosy blush spreading across his freckled cheeks. Eclipsa scowled at Thomas and she yanked her hand out of his slightly smaller one.

“Who _are_ you?!” She asked incredulously, pulling her arms protectively around herself.

The boy's head tilted in mock innocence and he took her hand once more, this time with almost aching gentleness. The Princess Hurricane felt her scowl collapse, and an unfamiliar warmth crept across her face.

He smirked, and the moment diminished. Eclipsa's scowl returned full force, and she yanked her hand away yet again. “This is unbecoming. You don't even know me.”

“But I’d like to know you. Let's start over,” Thomas’ hand extended towards Eclipsa, and she instinctively flinched away. He smiled at her encouragingly. “My name’s Thomas Thatcher, and I come from Earth. It's very nice to meet you, Just Eclipsa.”

Eclipsa said nothing, but humored him, and slipped her chocolate covered hand in his, shaking it once.

“Now, I know you don't like me, but just dance with me one time, and then you can decide what happens after.”

Eclipsa hesitated: to condemn herself to an early death, or run away in shame and back down from what seemed to be a challenge.

A deep breath and then…

\--  
\--

“Alright. First question.”

Eclipsa hesitatingly put her hand on Thomas’ shoulder and the other upon his waist. She took a breath to calm her rapidly beating heart. “Alright. Shoot.”

“Favorite color?”

“Purple.”

“Favorite food?”

“Chocolate.”

“Figures… favorite place to go?”

“The Forest of Certain Death.”

“Sounds charming. Favorite- Eclipsa! You're not supposed to be sleeping! You're at a ball!”

Eclipsa rolled her eyes. “You're starting to sound like my mother.”

Thomas’ emerald eyes softened. “My apologies. You and your mother don't get along?”

Eclipsa's eyes narrowed. “I don't see why I have to answer that question.”

Thomas nodded curtly. “I see.”

The pair plunged into uncomfortable silence, with only the drab Mewman music to keep the silence from becoming _awkward_.

That would have been rather annoying.

Almost annoying as Sir Thomas The Annoyingly Persistent to the becoming increasingly uncomfortable Eclipsa.

“Your mother doesn't understand you, does she Eclipsa?” Thomas’ wise eyes seemed to penetrate her very soul, rendering the Princess of Darkness completely vulnerable.

A feeling she was not comfortable with.  
She retained her silence. Thomas took this as a cue to continue.

“You and her see differently. She wants you to become this perfect princess. That's why you don't like your middle name; it reminds you of the responsibility of queendom, right Eclipsa? And you just want to have fun, right? You're afraid of all these responsibilities that you have to accept!” His emerald eyes sparkled with the glee of knowing Eclipsa's weaknesses.

As though he enjoyed tearing her apart bit by bit in front of her very eyes.

And unfortunately for Eclipsa, apparently once Thomas began with his scrutiny, he wasn't so inclined to stop.

And thus the most awful interrogation continued.

“You probably act out just because of how your mother treats you, right? Queen Hekatia doesn't give you very much attention and you simply want to have that, right Eclipsa? That's why you commit all these dangerous acts; that's why you hate the world! Because underneath the snark and the darkness you hide behind, you're simply a scared little girl, abandoned and unloved.”

Eclipsa's hands were deathly pale against Thomas. Her eyes shone with unshed tears and barely concealed anger. “I think the ball is over, Thomas Thatcher.” Her voice was thunderously soft, antipathy boiling underneath every syllable.

Thomas looked perturbed. “Did I...did I say something wrong?”

Eclipsa pushed him off of her like he was a speck of dust marring her otherwise immaculate dress. Her eyes regarded him warily. “I think you should leave.”

“But...but.”

Her eyes flashed dangerously, and she turned tail and ran, unshed tears flying down her face.

Eclipsa was annoyed and upset to hear footsteps following her as she flew through the various twists and turns of the castle. A hand yanked her back, and Eclipsa pulled instinctively away, not willing to trust this odd boy with the uncanny ability to see inside of her soul.

“Eclipsa! If I said something wrong...I'm sorry. I just...want to know you. You're not like many princesses I've met."

Eclipsa didn't look at him. “How did you know? All those things about me?”

Thomas was silent for a heartbeat, but he didn't encroach on her personal space, keeping professional distance away from the unstable princess. “I had a sister...she was kinda like you.”

Now Eclipsa looked at him, having a vague idea of just where his sister was now based on his unusually solemn tone. “Where is she now?”

“Dead.”

“I'm sorry.”

A cynical smirk spread across his face. “I think that's the kindest thing you've ever said to me.”

Eclipsa's lips pulled into a scowl. “Don't push it.” She growled. “You're still a nosy little pus bag that had no business assuming those things about me.” Her eyes softened imperceptibly, but judging by the way Thomas blushed, she knew he saw it.

Thomas was a noticer.

“But you're not all bad,” she continued. “You're just annoying.”

He smirked. “That's the Eclipsa I know.”

And then the stupid, _stupid_ little boy kissed her chastely on the cheek, atop her little red spade, running away like the scrawny little coward he was.

Eclipsa turned as red as the spades upon her cheeks. “Not funny!”

“It wasn't meant to be funny!” Came the amused call. “I'll see you around, Just Eclipsa!”

Eclipsa frowned, pulling her arms around herself.

Damn this ball and damn Stupid Thomas of Earth.

 


	7. The Princess Hurricane and The Aftermath

Had it been a few hundred? A few _thousand_?

Eclipsa had lost count of how many times her mother had been upset with her. She had even come to relish in the feeling of being acknowledged, even if only through anger.

Whether it had been pointless prank, or something infinitely more pressing, Hekatia had always retaliated with her seething anger that Eclipsa thrived off of like a parasite attached to its host.

The princess had grown accustomed to the familiar little dance between herself and The Queen Mother, had even come to accept it as a part of everyday life.

So as she grew older, and as Hekatia grew more and more distant, Eclipsa began to do all she could to gather up that small sliver of attention that Hekatia so rarely gave her. She committed the most foulest of acts all to make her mother notice her.

Thomas was right; she was an abandoned child who starved for the slightest bit of attention.

How pathetic; she had reverted back to five years old where she just wanted Mommy to play with her.

Now, however, the situation differed.

After Eclipsa's impulsive decision to make this ball the worst ball in the history of ever, Hekatia had not said a word to Eclipsa, nor had ventured out past the walls of her bedroom. Eclipsa, being the curious little princess that she was, had grown restless with the lack of contact from her mother.

In the moments following the ball, she had retreated to her own room, waiting for her mother to enter and give her a lecture.

After all, she thrived off of anger and The Queen Mother's relentless fury.

She waited.

And she waited.

And she waited some more.

Nothing.

Nada.

Zip.

No Hekatia.

No nothing.

It was simply quiet.

Eclipsa was unused to this type of behavior from her mother, and she soon became anxious for Hekatia's safety ( _it was rather unbecoming of The Queen Mother to be silent for so long_ ).

She found Queen Hekatia sitting silently at her vanity, vacantly stirring a cup of her favorite chamomile tea. Her face was oddly blank, and her usually vibrant ice blue eyes dim with apparent exhaustion. She showed no acknowledgement of Eclipsa's entry, and so the girl padded over to the vanity, placing a hesitant hand on her mother's bony shoulder.

Hekatia paused her stirring for the briefest second, and then it resumed again, the same languid pace. When The Queen Mother finally spoke, it was in an unfamiliar tone of wistful longing. “You have your father’s eyes. You know that, don't you?”

Eclipsa's breath hitched, and she found herself unable to breathe. Hekatia never mentioned her father around her. Not once. Not ever.

“You have his temper as well. His aptitude to get into trouble. His _rebelliousness_.”

The thin light of a candle set Hekatia's face alight, but it did nothing to dull the sharp angles that shone prominently on her face. The queen wore a dark shawl, making her hair appear more gray. In the light, her eyes shone a translucent gray as well, and her skin pulled taught around her face, like a mask. Eclipsa could easily see Hekatia's prominent cheekbones, wrinkles and sunken eyes.

She looked sad. Old. Eclipsa remained silent.

“Do you know why I'm so hard on you, Eclipsa?”

She shook her head, still not trusting herself to speak. The queen kept stirring the tea.

“It's because you remind me of him. And he was so incredibly good at what he did once he got past all that held him back. I keep thinking that if I push you along, and mold you into the perfect princess, that one day, you will become as good of a person as he was.”

“Mom-”

Hekatia held up a hand, her eyes brimming with unshed tears. “Don't. Do you know what my last words were to your father, Eclipsa? Before he joined the war front and never returned?”

Eclipsa felt a lump settle in her throat. “Mother...you don't have to-”

“I told him to hurry back soon, because _you_ were on the way. I told him that _you_ , the little squirmer inside me, would look up to him more than anyone or anything else. I told him that I couldn't raise you on my own, so he had better hurry the hell back home.”

Eclipsa let out an instinctive gasp.

“And hell was I right. I could never raise you right. I was always busy with work and you were always alone with no one else but your own shadow. It's my fault, Eclipsa. My fault you are the way you are. It's not your fault. After he died, I was alone. I watched you and saw _him_ and I couldn't bear it, so I buried myself in my work and allowed you to become impulsive and reckless.”

“Mom, it wasn't your fault.”

Hekatia let out a mirthless laugh. “Yes it was, child. It was completely and utterly my fault. I won't stop you anymore. You can come and go as you please. It's not like I can do anything about it. I never could and I still can’t.”

Eclipsa flinched. This was worse than being yelled at. Instead of the familiar passionate screeches, she was getting self-loathing. Eclipsa pursed her lips, feeling as small as a bug. “Mother, I-”

Hekatia held a hand up. “Just go, Eclipsa. Leave me to my thoughts, please.”

Her voice held a tone of finality, and she kept stirring the tea that was sure to be cold by now. And then the conversation was over, and Hekatia's eyes unfocused, becoming a paler shade of gray. Her face drooped in exhaustion, as though she were aging before Eclipsa’s very eyes.

She backed up, slowly at first, before spinning on her heel and sprinting back to her bedroom, shutting the door with a sharp slam. The young princess collapsed upon her bed, staring with dry eyes up at the sloped ceiling. Strange, she had thought the tears would have come running by now, but none came.

Eclipsa had no one left.

No father.

A distant mother.

She was completely and utterly alone.


	8. The Princess Hurricane and The Monster Called Gerald

Being a Butterfly meant many things.

Firstly, it was tradition for the royal family to have a girl heir.

Secondly, the princess was required a wand and an instruction manual with the abundant variety of spells that other queens had mastered.

Thirdly, the Mewman queen had to do what was best for her people.

Lastly and most importantly: monsters and Mewmans were sworn enemies.

According to Hekatia, monsters were a fungus upon the good kingdom of Mewni. A virus that needed to be wiped out. In theory, monsters were unfeeling and apathetic towards the lives of Mewmans and other living things alike.

Monsters were unwanted ugly beasts incapable of love or any sort of remorse.

Relentless killing machines.

At least...that's what Eclipsa was taught.

Not that she believed it. At all.

Monsters according to Eclipsa were misunderstood creatures just like ( _if not better than_ ) the Mewmans. They were uglier to look at than Mewmans, but that's as far as the differences went.

Eclipsa had met many different types of monsters in her short time on Mewni ( _Hekatia_ , _of_ _course_ , _had_ _no_ _idea_ ). The monsters that Eclipsa had acquainted herself with were in many ways like Mewmans.

Some were kind. Others were prideful.

Some were unearthly good. Others had a dark edge.

They were all splendidly individual...

But all in all, the monsters were just like Eclipsa. And that was the reason she cared so deeply about this poor pitiful race; on the inside, they were exactly like The Princess Hurricane.

Misunderstood. Slightly Disturbed. Unloved. Unappreciated. Unaccepted.

A _plague_ upon Mewni, a _fungus_ that needed to be wiped out.

An _anomaly_ at its finest.

It wasn't as if people _actually_ cared about them.

It wasn't as if people _really_ cared about ‘Just Eclipsa’.

Well except for Sir Thomas Thatcher Of Idiocy, but that was besides the point.

In the end, it was Eclipsa's uncanny respect and fascination for the monster race that would lead to unlocking her fullest potential.

Ironically, it was Eclipsa's love for these misunderstood creatures that would inevitably lead to her untimely demise as well.

\--  
\--

It was precisely twilight on the settling kingdom of Mewni, and against her mother's better judgement, Eclipsa was currently wandering aimlessly about the kingdom, clad in a black cloak to conceal her iconic head of curls and glowing red spades that would immediately distinguish her as the princess.

It was a difficult decision sneaking out after her mother's uncharacteristic breakdown, but inevitably, Eclipsa's uninhibited and boundless energy got the better of her, and she released it by doing what she was particularly wont to do: break the rules.

It wasn't as if Hekatia would yell at her anymore. She had openly admitted that seeing her daughter reminded her painfully of her dead husband, and Eclipsa wasn't about to spend more time with Hekatia only to have her flinch away in mourning remembrance.

No. So Eclipsa was alone yet again, with nothing but the moon, her elongated shadow and her innermost thoughts.

“Hey! Get away, filthy _monster_!”

“Yeah! Yeah! Kill it, Jacob!”

“Bash its head in!!!”

It only took a mere pair of heartbeats before the undaunted little princess found the source of all the yelling. Three scrawny little boys in the form of shadowy silhouettes stood offensively around a smaller figure. Eclipsa could see the gleam of metal knives poised to jab at the smaller figure, who was hunched over, curled in on itself to get away from the mocking boys and their hideous laughter.

In the light of the moon, Eclipsa could easily see the small hunched figure’s eyes, wide and frightened.

All four of them.

Irrational anger boiled deep inside of The Princess Hurricane at seeing this poor defenseless creature tormented by these irrational, bloodthirsty Mewman boys.

And being Eclipsa, of course she was to act on it.

“Hey, uglies!”

Their heads swiveled around to face the cloaked princess, at first showcasing bewilderment, then amusement. “Scram, girly. This is our business. Get out before we break your teeth in.”

Oh _hell_ no. This was the wrong day to mess with Eclipsa Marie Butterfly.

She laughed boisterously, catching all three off guard. “Like hell it isn't my business. He's innocent,” Eclipsa pulled her hood cleanly off her head, exposing her abundant nest of curls and the red spades glittering on her cheeks. Her wand glowed a hungry purple and dark eyes gleamed. “And I'm Eclipsa Butterfly, the princess of Mewni. Never _ever_ call me ‘ _girly_ ’ again, or else I will squash you like the pitiful insects you are.”

Judging by the newfound fear clouding the eyes of the three boys, Eclipsa's reputation preceded her.

_Excellent_.

Eclipsa's umbrella wand pointed to the frightened monster, bathing it in an eerie purple glow. The monster stared at Eclipsa's wand, amber eyes filled with newfound fascination.

Eclipsa turned the wand to one of the boys. Presumably the one called _Jacob_. Jacob’s eyes sparked with rational fear, and his hands came up in surrender. “I'm sorry, your highness. We didn't know it was you! Please don't kill us!”

The Princess Hurricane’s mahogany eyes flashed darkly, and she jabbed the frightened boy once in the chest. “Don't apologize to me,” Eclipsa said. “Apologize to _him_.”

The monster looked up, fright returning.

The boys looked at her incredulously. “Uh… Sorry but, I'm not apologizing to a monster, princess.” Jacob said uncertainly.

Interesting. Perhaps he was braver than Eclipsa had originally thought.

How _annoying_.

In a quickened heartbeat, she had pointed the umbrella to one of Jacob’s friends, shooting a jet of purple light into his chest. Immediately the boy doubled over, clutching his chest tightly. His bones twisted with repugnant cracks and his feet rose from the ground. His face petrified like stone, mouth agape in a silent scream. Eclipsa watched mystified as his eyes filled with the utmost pain, and the screaming began. Agonizing, tortured screams echoed across the land of Mewni.

Eclipsa clasped her hands in deranged pride, shooting the boys observing this sickening scene a sadistic smile. “I'm going to keep this up until you apologize or he dies. Your choice on which happens first.”

Jacob relented, eyes flashing with regret. “I'm sorry, monster! I didn't mean to hurt you.”

Eclipsa's smile became more genuine. “Good.” She drawled, dropping the tortured boy where he collapsed to the ground, weeping and shivering. The other two immediately rushed to his side, watching Eclipsa with the utmost distrust. She eyed them dispassionately. “Now go,” she said with a dismissive wave. “And if I ever see you mistreat another creature again, I won't be so merciful.”

There wasn't a second’s hesitation; the three Mewman boys turned tail and ran from the site of their dignities’ untimely demise at the hands of one rancorous princess. Eclipsa stared after them with a victorious grin before turning to face her companion.

The small creature remained huddled in his protective hunched position, amber eyes watching Eclipsa with an intriguing combination of interest and wariness.

Eclipsa knelt down to the monster’s level, shadowy gaze sweeping his form for injuries. Oddly enough, the creature didn't seem afraid of her. She had just tortured a boy without blinking and yet the monster’s amber eyes shone guilelessly and curiously, staring evenly back at Eclipsa.

Eclipsa scooted closer to the monster, taking immediate notice of deep lashes and crimson blood seeping from his already red skin, staining it a darker shade.

Her heart throbbed in empathetic pain, and she extended a gentle hand out to touch the wounded arm. The monster flinched momentarily at her touch before the innocently puzzled gaze returned.

Eclipsa pursed her lips, glaring mockingly at the little beast. “That's a nasty gash you have there, buddy.” Her dark eyes softened. “But it's alright now. They're not going to hurt you anymore.”

The monster's head tilted inquisitively, and even though he remained silent, Eclipsa had a large inkling that he understood what she said.

Then she pulled out her wand and all went to hell.

The monster’s eyes widened with sudden fear, and he scooted away from her in a frenzied panic, squealing and grunting frantically. Amber glinted fiercely in the eerie light of the purple wand, and lips pulled up into an instinctive scowl, exposing pearly white teeth daggers.

Eclipsa immediately put the wand down, holding up her hands reassuringly, palms facing him. She shushed him gently, remaining still as the monster began to calm down. When all returned to silence, Eclipsa's hand crept towards the wand once more. The monster’s four amber eyes followed it, and he growled once in warning. Eclipsa's dark eyes met his own, attempting to exude some aura of calm.

“It's alright. I won't hurt you. The wand is _good_. I just want to heal you.”

The monster’s eyes narrowed, and he eyed the wand with distrust.

Eclipsa held up her hand. “I promise, I will not use this wand to hurt you.”

The monster's lips curled, but curiosity and a guileless intrigue returned to his eyes as he scooted closer to Eclipsa. With an uneasy glance to her, the creature held out his arm to her, placing it in her outstretched hands.

Eclipsa internally patted herself on the back, but she settled for a dazzling smile, and appraisal for the monster.

He tensed when she brought out the wand yet again, but didn't move his arm as Eclipsa muttered something unintelligible, and the wand glowed a brilliant gold. The monster's amber eyes shone with a golden sheen, and the fascination with Eclipsa's magic only grew as the skin knitted itself together, returning to that same pale red color.

The monster took his arm back, watching Eclipsa with guileless reverence and an uninhibited awe. She shot him a small smile before gathering her wand and cloak in her arms. “Well this has certainly been fun, but I have to go back to the castle now. I...guess I'll see you?”

The monster frowned, as though Eclipsa's leaving was wholly unsavory to his tastes. In a flash, Eclipsa felt claws tear the fabric of her cloak as the little thing climbed her back, placing its little claws gently upon her shoulders. Eclipsa looked back with amusement at the tiny creature with the trusting amber eyes.

“You want to come with me? I assure you, The Queen Mother doesn't allow me pets, much less a pet monster. I usually like getting her upset, but right now might not be the best time.”

The monster's eyes filled with tears and his lower lip trembled.

Eclipsa rolled her eyes, tsk-tsking pitifully. “Don't you have a home? A family to go home to?”

He looked behind him sadly, returning the mournful gaze to Eclipsa. One hand pointed to his chest, and then to her. Eclipsa's heart softened. “You're all alone?”

He gave a solemn nod.

Eclipsa sighed in relent. "Okay, fine. You can come. But only for a little while, I don't know how Mother would react. But if you're coming home with me, I'm going to have to call you something. You have a name, right?”

A slight pause, and then the monster shook his head.

“ _What_?! That's so sad. Alright, whatever. I'm going to call you Gerald. Good? Good.”

The monster-Gerald-looked mystified, his lips shaping the name in fascination.

“Gerald.” He said plainly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I kinda wrote this chapter late at night so it's probably like really bad. 00oops.


	9. The Princess Hurricane and Hekatia's Secret

_Crash_! A priceless Butterfly family heirloom shattered into pieces on Eclipsa's floor.

“Gerald! No!” Eclipsa hissed as the small creature berated her room, putting his small claws on everything remotely shiny and clambering about mercilessly.

Eclipsa felt very much like The Queen Mother, and she didn't like it at all.

Gerald, of course, didn't listen to Eclipsa, merely continuing his venture across the apparent wonderland that was Eclipsa’s bedroom. Amber eyes gleamed in curiosity as a red hand reached up and snatched Eclipsa's hairbrush from her vanity.

He sniffed it experimentally before gumming the end with his razor-like teeth, leaving indentations where his teeth penetrated.

Eclipsa face-palmed.

Gerald tossed the hairbrush aside, instead looking to see what new toys he could get his tiny claws on. His eyes glinted with excitement as they rested upon Eclipsa's invitingly comfortable bed. Eclipsa's eyes widened, and she snatched the small monster up before he could begin wreaking havoc on her preferred place of slumber.

Gerald twisted uncomfortably in her grasp, his squirming making it exceedingly difficult to keep him inhibited. Luckily for Eclipsa, she managed well enough.

“Gerald-”

He grunted, reaching a hand out for the soft bedsheets. Eclipsa smacked it away.

“No, Gerald.” She managed in between pants. “If you're going to stay here, you _cannot_ trash my room.”

The monster looked back at her, eyes shining with materialistic longing. The young Gerald turned his attention to the bed once more, a chubby hand reaching out petulantly for the covers. Then he retracted it, and looked at Eclipsa again. If she didn't know any better, it would seem as if Gerald was asking her permission.

She shook her head in an answer, dark eyes watching the small creature in her arms with playful distrust.

He pouted, going limp in Eclipsa's arms. She sighed in concession. “Fine,” she breathed. Gerald's eyes brightened in the time it took for Eclipsa to snap her fingers. The princess quickly corrected herself. “But _only_ if you don't ruin the sheets.”

Gerald gave her a quick lopsided grin before Eclipsa let him down, and then he maneuvered his little body carefully upon the bed, curling up upon the fluffy pillows. Despite just how petulantly annoying the little beast was, Eclipsa had to admit, he was cute in a naïve way.

And it was a nice thing to allow him to stay in the castle. After all, the poor thing had no family, no place to call home. He only had those nasty bullies...and her.

His undaunted protector.

And she would damn well take care of poor Gerald until her mother found out and kicked him out.

Maybe even after then.

She hardly noticed his renewed presence besides her until clawed hands took her wrists, turning the hands palm up. Gerald grunted in worry, and of course, Eclipsa had to see just what concerned him.

She wasn't in any way disappointed, but she was surprised.

Upon her palms and extending to her upper wrist, was the blooming of an oddly foreboding purple vein. It etched itself onto both hands, originating in the palm and creeping towards her upper arm, turning a portion of her porcelain skin a deep purple.

Eclipsa was mystified and she hesitantly traced the purple veins with her fingertips. “What?” She released in a breathy whisper. Gerald looked up at her, amber eyes glinting in worry. The veins were oddly cold to the touch, eerily a few degrees cooler than her other skin.

“Darkness.” Said Gerald.

Eclipsa looked up at him. “Do you know what this is?”

“Darkness.” Said Gerald.

Eclipsa opened her mouth to respond, but immediately shut it again, uncertain on how to respond. The logical response would be to ask Gerald more questions, but the young monster’s vocabulary seemed pitifully limited to words such as ‘darkness’ and his own newly gifted name. She traced the veins again with a smooth hand, watching the skin shudder with goosebumps underneath her fingertips. Gerald's mouth remained serious, but his eyes glimmered with concern.

“Eclipsa? Are you in there?”

Eclipsa cursed under her breath, snatching a pair of gloves to hide the starkly visible veins. She put them on quickly, easily concealing the oddity.

So why did she feel like she was forgetting something?

“Eclipsa?” Hekatia called. “Is there someone there with you?”

She cursed yet again, swiveling her head to face the young monster currently sitting placidly on her bed. His amber eyes were glued to the closed door, and he sat petrified in trepidation.

“Oh, come on!” Eclipsa hissed, grabbing Gerald by the waist and coaxing him underneath the bed. He squeaked once in surprise, before allowing Eclipsa to handle him. The Princess Hurricane checked her gloved hands.

No visible veins. Check.

She turned to look under her bed.

Gerald was safely hidden. Check.

“Come in, Mother!” Eclipsa called.  
The door opened, and Queen Hekatia entered, a black cloak concealing pale pink hair and darkening ice blue eyes.

Eclipsa flashed her mother a dazzling smile, purposely placing herself in front of the hidden Gerald. “Hello, Mother,” she greeted with faux politeness. “Was there something you needed?”

Hekatia's eyebrow raised from under the cloak, and her ice blue eyes shone dully with exhaustion, rekindling intrigue when they rested on Eclipsa’s gloved hands. “New style, Eclipsa?”

The princess shrugged in practiced nonchalance. “I was just testing it out.”

Hekatia nodded, seemingly satisfied by Eclipsa's answer. Her pale, spindly fingers clasped together in a gesture of the utmost professionalism before she went on to explain her abrupt visit. “I see. Well, I'm going out tonight, Eclipsa. I'll see you in the morning.”

Eclipsa blinked in bewilderment. _That_ was certainly not what she had been expecting. “Out?” She echoed. “What do you mean by ‘out’?”

Hekatia sighed as if this was exactly the type of response she had been anticipating. “I'm going for a walk, Eclipsa. I need to get some fresh air.”

Eclipsa opened her mouth to speak, but the Queen Hekatia was already at the door, Eclipsa's spellbook ensconced in her arms.

She turned, ice blue eyes regarding Eclipsa with a brutal intensity, almost a fear.

“Do _not_ follow me, Eclipsa.”

Eclipsa glanced to the spellbook, then back to Hekatia. “Why?”

She pursed her lips. “Just don't, alright? You don't need to know everything I do. Understand?”

Eclipsa nodded.

Hekatia's eyes melted. “Good.” She released in a gusty breath of relieved air.

With a flourish of her black cloak, The Queen Mother exited her daughter’s room, cloak streaming behind her like a morbid parade ribbon.

“Darkness.” Came the muffled whisper from underneath the bed. “Evil.”

Eclipsa knelt down to peer at her monster companion. “What are you talking about?” She asked. “That's my mother. She's _not_ evil.”

Gerald's amber eyes peered back at her coyly from under the bed, making him look like a meek cat. “Death.” Said Gerald. “Death magic.”

“‘Death magic’?” Eclipsa echoed incredulously. Gerald's head tilted in a shaky nod. Eclipsa threw up her hands. “Well what the hell does _that_ mean?”

Gerald said nothing, but he inched his way out from under the bed, standing up on his two scrawny legs. With a pointed look at Eclipsa, a clawed hand extended to where Hekatia had left, one spindly finger pointing to the door.

He looked back to Eclipsa. “Death.” He said. “Death magic.”

Eclipsa sat up, her finger joining Gerald’s in the ominous pointing. Though hers was rather disbelieving where his was foreboding. The young princess eyed her new friend doubtfully. “Let me get this straight. You think that my mother is practicing magic by herself.”

Gerald shook his head. “ _Death_ magic.” He repeated.

Eclipsa sighed, placing her head in her hands. “Right, sorry. _Death_ magic.”

The monster nodded in satisfaction.

Eclipsa repressed yet another sigh.  
“So what do you want to do about it, Gerald? Huh? You want to follow her and see if she's doing whatever the hell _death_ _magic_ is?”

Gerald's eyes sparked in panic and he shook his head rapidly. “No, no, no, no, no-”

Eclipsa's head tilted inquisitively, and a gloved hand came up to tap her chin. “Actually that doesn't sound like a bad idea.”

“-no, no, no, no, no-”

Eclipsa glared at the monster. “Hush! You're the one who told me Mom was doing dark magic; now you're coming with me to find out if it's true.”

“-no, no, no, no, bad, bad, bad, bad-”

Eclipsa scoffed and grabbed Gerald’s wrist, interrupting the sequence of particularly insistent ‘no’s and ‘bad’s. “Oh, come on, you big baby!” she chastised him, tugging the adamant monster from his position and bringing the pitiful Gerald squealing to the door. “You're coming! End of story!”

“-no, no, no, no-”

Eclipsa's dark eyes rolled, and she used all her strength to pull her complaining companion to the door. “Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Come on, Gerald. Following The Queen Mother can't be _that_ bad.”

\--  
\--

Update: it _was_ that bad.

Following Queen Hekatia was about as easy as keeping track of a single cloud for longer than ten minutes.

One minute there, the next gone.

And it seriously didn't help Eclipsa to have a squirming, panicking baby monster upon her back, constantly telling her just how bad of an idea this was.

Well, sort of. Generally, Gerald would only say ‘no’, ‘bad’, ‘death’, and ‘turn back’.

Even though Eclipsa had cast a cloaking spell, she was still having trouble keeping her new monster friend silent, for although the spell worked wonders in the visible realm, it was certainly not soundproof.

“Turn back.” Gerald said.

“Hush up, Gerald! I told you we have to stay quiet!”

Currently, the not-so-conspicuous pair consisting of The Hurricane and her friend, The Tornado were attempting to follow the eerily pulsing purple light emanating from Hekatia's palm. It wasn't easy, for Hekatia moved like a sly little rabbit, and Eclipsa…

Well, let's just say she wasn't that coordinated.

Honesty it was a wonder The Queen Mother didn't notice them trailing her, for Eclipsa had enough trouble navigating on her own, and with a small bundle of nervousness on her back, she traveled horribly.

Hekatia stopped at a metal gate, disintegrating the lock like it was mere child's play. The queen slid deftly inside, eerie purple light turning her ice blue eyes a light lavender. If Eclipsa looked hard enough, she could make out small shapes on the inside of the fence. They looked like…

“Gravestones?” Eclipsa whispered to her companion.

“Death.” Gerald hissed as an answer. “Bad magic.”

The Princess Hurricane was getting more and more uneasy about this clandestine walk, and the pit of uncertainty expanded in her stomach.

But Eclipsa continued forwards, tensing as Gerald scrunched himself as small as he could possibly be, burying his trembling face into her back.

“It's alright,” Eclipsa whispered to him in assurance. “They're already dead. They can't hurt you.”

Hekatia suddenly stopped, pulsing light flickering briefly. Eclipsa hunched down behind a particularly large gravestone, peering her curious head of curls to watch what her mother was doing.

Gerald, of course, remained like a hump on Eclipsa's back, unwilling to move.

“What the hell is she doing?” Eclipsa mused as she watched her mother's figure kneel down besides a gravestone, moving some of the dirt with her gloved hands. The Queen went still for an achingly long moment, and Eclipsa realized that she was _praying_.

She didn't even know Hekatia believed in a god.

Then The Queen Mother stood, the purple light returning with a brilliant vengeance. Skinny arms outstretched and a voice unlike her usual began to chant in an odd tongue. One that Eclipsa had yet to learn.

Gerald hissed behind her. “Leave. Now. Bad.”

Eclipsa shushed him, watching as the flash grew exceedingly bright before dimming to the same eerily pulsing light that Hekatia had used to traverse here.

A thump made Eclipsa and Gerald jump, and then silence followed suit. It was the type of quiet that came with a supernatural anomaly. The type that had the universe holding its breath, waiting in trepidation for something horrible to occur.

No birds sang. No crickets chirped. No fireflies gleamed.

It was complete disquiet.

As for Eclipsa and Gerald, they found themselves holding their breaths as well, as though the universe peer pressured them into doing so.

In the eerie pulsing light of Hekatia's magic, Eclipsa could make out a large rectangular figure, one made of rusted metal and eaten wood.

The Princess Hurricane felt her stomach drop, and Gerald whimpered behind her.

She was staring at a coffin.

“Necromancer.” Gerald said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this story's getting super weird. I really want to keep updating this, but I have no idea just how bizzare this is going to get: if you like morbid humor and super weirdness, then this story's for you.


	10. The Princess Hurricane and The Necromancer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a note, this chapter is suuuuuupper long. At least compared to the other chapters. Hope you enjoy!  
> (also I kinda modified the Necromancy spell from one that I found on a sketchy website. So it's soooorta mine but not entirely)

“This is a horrible idea, Queen Hekatia.”

She responded with a quick silencing hand. “Quiet, Glossaryk. I need to do this.”

From Eclipsa's point of sight, Glossaryk was a tiny floating silhouette, elongated shadow mingling among the gravestones. “And Eclipsa? Have you thought of Eclipsa?”

Her head snapped to the floating man, flashing eyes visible even to Eclipsa. “Of _course_ I've thought of Eclipsa! Why else do you think I'm bringing him back?!"

Eclipsa let out an involuntary gasp, stifling it immediately with one hand when both heads swiveled about to where she and Gerald were in hiding. Hekatia blinked in disinterest before returning her attention to the spellbook. Although Eclipsa thought for certain that Glossaryk’s all seeing magenta eyes hovered on Eclipsa’s exact tombstone before addressing the frantic queen once more.

“You must be a fool if you believe that you're bringing Roman back for Eclipsa and Eclipsa alone.” Glossaryk said gravely.

Hekatia fell silent.

“You're doing this for yourself, Hekatia. Not Eclipsa.”

“But it will benefit Eclipsa as well,” Hekatia refuted obstinately. “Don't you know how _lonely_ she's been? Sure she hides it well enough, but the death of-Ro-of her _father_ has had a large impact on her.”

Eclipsa shifted her gaze to Glossaryk, who was pondering Hekatia's statement. “Of course I know how lonely she is, your majesty. I am her tutor, after all. But that has largely fallen on you.” His face was strangely grave for the quirky jovial oddity that was Glossaryk. “ _You_ were the one who sunk deeper and deeper into your work. _You_ were the one who left Eclipsa alone. _You_ are the primary reason Eclipsa is how she is.”

Eclipsa frowned. There was nothing wrong with how she was.

Was there?

 _I wouldn't be so sure_ , a voice from deep within growled. _After all, wasn't it you who made a little boy’s limbs twist without blinking? Wasn't it you who made him cry out for mercy? You remember those cries, right Eclipsa? **Wasn’t it you who caused them?**_

Eclipsa flinched, pulling back the glove to look at the spindly veins etched into her skin.

 _Darkness_. Gerald had said. _Evil_.

Eclipsa winced, tugging the glove back up her arm. She wasn't evil. No way. That boy got what he deserved.

 _Darkness_. The voice hissed accusingly. _Evil_.

“Enough of this!” Hekatia's familiar stern shriek penetrated Eclipsa's mind, silencing the deep voice coaxing Eclipsa to the darkness. “I'm bringing him back, Glossaryk, and you can't stop me. It _will_ help Eclipsa and it _will_ help me.” She let out a shaky sigh, turning with catalyzed determination to the spellbook. The last sentence was a desperate whisper. “It has to.”

And then the queen flipped furiously through the pages, uncaringly ripping ones that were of unimportance. Glossaryk watched her as silently and as pitifully as Eclipsa, flinching whenever the queen let out an unstable cry, or whenever the precious book was ripped.

Eclipsa's stomach roiled. Was this what her mother had been reduced to? A pitiful shell of her former radiance and poise? A perturbed queen, desperate for her late husband to return?

Was Eclipsa the cause? Did Hekatia look at Eclipsa and see Roman?

Did Hekatia even love Eclipsa?

Eclipsa felt the void of darkness expand along with the sorrow of still being the unwanted.

“Where is it?!” Hekatia snarled. “Where's the spell I created?”

Glossaryk remained silent, and he watched The Queen Mother solemnly as she pawed through the pages with more rancor than before. Even though her tutor retained the utmost poise and impassive expression, Eclipsa had an inkling that Glossaryk knew exactly where this spell was. “ _Where is it?!”_

A tiny tug on Eclipsa's sleeve. “Turn back.” Said a small voice. “Leave now. Too dangerous.”

Eclipsa looked at the little monster with the solemn amber eyes, still scrunched on her back. For a moment, she was surprised, for Eclipsa had forgotten all about Gerald. She shushed him gently, leaving the monster at edge.

Glossaryk's mouth set into a thin, apologetic line. “I'm sorry, Hekatia, but Roman is gone. Even if you were to bring him back, the effects would be catastrophic.”

The queen’s eyes flashed maniacally, and Eclipsa instinctively shrank back from the intensity of her glare. “You…” she snarled. “...you hid it from me.”

Glossaryk's face remained impassive as he stared down The Queen Mother. “It's for your own good, Hekatia. When you dip into darkness, darkness dips into you.”

Hekatia lunged at the little blue man, making Eclipsa cry out instinctively in shock. Glossaryk, still unperturbed, merely extended an arm, his brilliant magic encasing Hekatia in a golden light.

When he finished, Hekatia was engulfed, frozen as though paused. Her arms outstretched, her mouth twisted into an animalistic scowl, her eyes hardened into ice blue daggers.

“Do you see what darkness does to you, Eclipsa?” Glossaryk called nonchalantly.

Eclipsa stifled a gasp, pressing herself closer to the gravestone she hid behind. Besides her, Gerald crouched into a defensive position, amber eyes gleaming with oddly potent anticipation.

“Seriously, Eclipsa, I know you're hiding. You're not as good at it as you think!”

Eclipsa pressed a hand against her mouth to keep her breathing quiet. Apparently, it didn't matter much to Glossaryk.

“Eclipsa,” he chastised. “Come out from back there.”

She let out a surrendering sigh, ignoring the infernal protests from Gerald. With a flourish of her hand, she flicked his inhibiting arm off of hers, and went out to meet her expectant teacher and her frozen mother. He greeted her with a cryptic smile, gesturing to Hekatia. “Hey, Eclipsa. Nice of you to join us.” The oddly nonchalant little blue man snapped his finger, and three pudding cups materialized out of nowhere. Two landing into Eclipsa's hands.

She looked up at him questioningly. “But there's only-”

Glossaryk shook his head. “Aren't you going to offer some to poor little Gerald over there? Might get him used to me.”

Eclipsa shook her head, a mirthless smile upon her face. She tilted her head in a small nod. “Touché.” And then she went to go retrieve her friend.

\--  
\--

“Your mother has been practicing this type of magic for a long time,” Glossaryk said as he dipped a finger into the pudding. “She just recently discovered a spell to...revive someone who…”

“Died.” Eclipsa supplied.

Glossaryk nodded solemnly. “Yes. Someone who died. And I know you two have been back there for a while so you most definitely know who Hekatia was attempting to revive.” Magenta eyes locked pointedly on Eclipsa, who shifted uneasily. Gerald sniffed his pudding nervously at Eclipsa's side, every so often casting distrustful glances to the little blue man.

“Dad.” Eclipsa said.

Glossaryk retained his silence, and continued to eat his pudding, unaware ( _or possibly uncaring_ ) of the eerie aura to the silence. Eclipsa pushed her untouched pudding away, appetite nonexistent. Gerald looked up at her worriedly, and then with a decisive nod, pushed his pudding away as well, flashing a toothy grin to Eclipsa afterwards.

Eclipsa returned the smile, patting the little monster on the head. Glossaryk watched the interaction with mild intrigue. “A Mewman Princess and a monster getting along. Who would've thought?”

Eclipsa grinned at her favorite teacher. “Aww, come on,” she said. “Gerald's not evil at all! He's just a baby!”

Glossaryk's eyes narrowed thoughtfully, and Gerald shifted uncomfortably at the penetrating stare. “He does seem rather comfortable with you, Eclipsa. But why did you name him Gerald?”

She shrugged. “I don't know, it was the first-”

A familiar bloodcurdling cry interrupted Eclipsa as the queen came to life. The golden light faded before Eclipsa's eyes. Hekatia's outstretched hands clenched as though attempting to strangle someone ( _or perhaps give them quite a lovely hug_ ). Her eyes flashed with maniacal fire, an oddly stark contrast to the ice chips that came with her usually stern visage. Her maroon painted mouth twisted in a renewed scowl, eyes shifting to glare at Glossaryk.

The fire flickered when she laid eyes on Eclipsa.

“Eclipsa? What are you doing here? I told you not to follow me!” Gerald poked his head around Eclipsa, amber eyes wide with gleaming curiosity. Hekatia's eyes widened in shock and fear. “And what is _that_?”

Eclipsa shook her head. “No! It's alright! He's just a baby-”

Hekatia pulled her daughter behind her in a quick flourish, glowing hand preparing to knock the poor Gerald into oblivion. The monster squeaked, attempting the impossible scramble back to Eclipsa, only to get kicked down by Hekatia, who scoffed in disgust.

Eclipsa pushed past her mother's protective arm, placing herself directly in front of the wheezing Gerald.

“Eclipsa Marie. Move.”

The Princess Hurricane stared defiantly back. “No. He's my friend. His name is Gerald.”

The bizarre name itself was enough to make Hekatia falter. In newfound panic, she lifted her face to the sky, watching as the light began creeping in from the horizon.

Faster than seemed humanly possible, The Queen Mother dashed back to the spellbook, having been deterred, tearing through page after page. “Glossaryk!” She cried. “Give me the spell! It can only happen tonight, when the planets are all aligned!” Another anxious glance to the receding darkness, then to Eclipsa.

“Eclipsa,” she pleaded. “You of all people have to understand. Don't you want to know him? Don't you want to have a father? Someone better than me in every possible way? I'm sorry, Eclipsa. I really am. I wish I could've been a better mother to you, but now you can have that! You just need to get me the spell, sweetheart. That's all.”

Eclipsa blinked at her, then turned to Glossaryk uncertainly. “How am _I_ supposed to find it?”

Hekatia did something uncannily rare then: she smiled. The pride emanating from that smile was enough to make Eclipsa's heart swell with warmth. “I know how gifted you are with magic, Eclipsa. You don't need the spell to understand. Just let it flow and it will come.”

Glossaryk's eyes sparked with panic. “ _No_! Eclipsa, this is dark magic you're dabbling with. Don't do it; Roman is dead and he _can't_ come back. Not without consequence.”

“Eclipsa,” Hekatia pleaded. “The power is unbelievable, you feel -you are- _unstoppable_. Don't you want it? He can come back! You just have to trust me, child. I promise, we can all be together. _A_ _family_. Isn't that what you want?”

Eclipsa faltered. Did she want her father back? Of course. Did she want a family? Of course.

But at what consequence?

“Eclipsa, please…” Hekatia begged in a tone that was painfully and uncharacteristically vulnerable. “Please.”

“No, Eclipsa. This isn't right.”

A father? A family?

Or nothing, back to the unloved little child?

_I promise, we can all be together. A family. Isn't that what you want?_

She looked to her mother first, then to the solemn Glossaryk.

And then she made her decision.

Eclipsa ignored the little blue man for the first and last time in her life, walking over to where Hekatia the Necromancer knelt over the book.

Behind her, Gerald padded carefully, keeping a distrusting eye on Hekatia.

“But I want him back, Glossaryk.”

With almost absentminded grace, Eclipsa knelt besides the spellbook, feeling the absolute power radiating from it as she ran tender fingertips upon its surface. She realized then and there that she wanted that power. She wanted to be like that book: immortal, all-seeing, all powerful.

Eclipsa felt a soft smile touch upon her lips.

_She would be unstoppable.  
_

As though underwater, Eclipsa could hear Glossaryk's protests, but she merely held out a hand radiating power, and all fell silent.

There was her, and there was her book, and there was her unyieldingly crushing power.

_I know how gifted you are with magic, Eclipsa. You don't need the spell to understand. Just let it flow and it will come._

“Open.”

The book heeded her command and flew open to a blank page.

Silence fell across Mewni; the land was holding its breath as The Princess Hurricane created her own chapter. She began by clearing her mind ( _just let it flow and it will come_ ), and thinking about her father ( _Roman. Dancing in the rain. Laying by the fire. Touching the stretched belly of his beloved wife. Teal curls, mahogany eyes that held a spark of mischief, a lopsided smile._ ).

The words came quickly, small pulses in Eclipsa's mind. Her mouth shaped the words, transferring them smoothly to the spellbook.

 _I call upon the depths of darkness_  
_For the one who sleeps in stone and clay_  
_Let him heed this call_  
_And rise up to obey_  
_To sweet Death I pledge myself_  
_Bind my heart and blacken my soul_  
_To return to me the life you stole_  
_Let him trek through the Mortal door_  
_Assemble flesh and walk once more!_

Even though she stayed silent, the unfamiliar chant etched itself on the blank parchment, inking the white a deep black.

A swirling wind swept through the stale silence of the graveyard, ruffling Eclipsa's hair and flickering the page that held The Resurrection Spell of Queen Hekatia. It shone in pure black ink, an aura of finality and an air of shimmering dread surrounding the page. Eclipsa leaned back with a sigh, recovering from that brief caress of darkness that tempted her still innocent heart.

All was silent. Nothing moved. Nothing breathed.

There was Eclipsa. There was her book. And there was her receding power at the back of her mind, waiting for the next time she would tap into it, allowing the magic to sweep through her being yet again.

“You did it.” Hekatia gasped, ice blue eyes laced with astonishment and maternal pride. “Eclipsa, you brilliant girl, you did it!” She snatched the book from her daughter's hands, a victorious smile gracing her usually stern visage. The Queen Mother cast an uneasy glance to where a purple light encased the little blue man, freezing him in time. “Quickly, child. Set candles around the compass points; I'll get to drawing the pentagram.”

Eclipsa looked at her paused tutor, surveying the oddly vacant magenta eyes. Suddenly, a rush of remorse surged through her at seeing him like this.

At seeing what _she_ caused.

 _Darkness_. The voice whispered with a returning vengeance. _Evil_.

_Do you see what darkness does to you, Eclipsa?_

“Eclipsa! Hurry, my child! The time is passing!”

Eclipsa walked towards Glossaryk, staring at his unseeing violet eyes. He was so vulnerable like this ( _you made him like this, Eclipsa_ ).

“Eclipsa! We have to work quickly! Now light these candles and place them at each individual cardinal point.”

White chalk shone brightly around the rotting coffin, as though Roman was anticipating his return. Besides him was the uncharacteristically nervous Hekatia, eyes shining with anxiety in the rising light of the sun.

“Eclipsa!” She cried. “We have to do this now! Don't worry about Glossaryk; he'll be fine!”

Eclipsa took a deep breath, before the four candles glided smoothly to the cardinal points, flickering to life under the command of Eclipsa's powerful magic.

Hekatia's ice blue eyes gleamed amber in the dancing lights, lips pulling back in an oddly maniacal smile.

She nodded in appraisal, and turned her attention to the spellbook.

Besides her, Eclipsa Marie Butterfly stood, watching as the glimmering lights painted ghoulish shadows across the large coffin.

Hekatia took a deep breath, looking to Eclipsa questioningly.

The Princess of Darkness nodded affirmably, setting her gaze determinedly upon the rising sun.

It was time to begin.


	11. The Princess Hurricane and Her First Dark Spell

There had been a short fleeting moment where Eclipsa was frightened.

It had occurred when she was small, a mere child with large, innocent chocolate eyes that took up the majority of her cherubic face, and a growing head of tumbling curls.

At this age, the young Eclipsa had deemed it high time for her to begin traipsing through the elephantine residency that was her home.

She had never before ventured outside the nursery, and so rarely did she catch a glimpse of her elusive mother. So the little princess had thought she had quite a reason to traverse outside her prison of plush warnicorns and painted flowers.

It began with a small, wobbly step, and then another and then another.

Soon the pink painted door of the nursery was a mere speck at the end of the hallway, and the winding staircase before Eclipsa that had always tempted her now towered over the little princess, eliciting equally warring emotions of dread and curiosity.

As the little princess ventured farther and farther from her little sanctum-prison, the feeling of dread that had begun to pool in Eclipsa's stomach had escalated, and the abundant twists and turns of the castle became more and more foreboding.

But still, the lingering curiosity remained, and Eclipsa went on until an instinctively panicked queen with ice blue eyes and pale pink hair had found the princess in the middle of the grandma room, scooped the frightened little Eclipsa up and brought her back to the nursery, sparing some of her precious time to sit with Eclipsa until the ambitious little thing fell asleep in her arms.

The warring emotions of dread and curiosity lingered in Eclipsa's stomach now; the fear of the unknown, the allure to the power that she held for the briefest of instances.

This was the current sensation of Eclipsa's spirit.

As of now, Hekatia the Necromancer stood in the center of her chalked pentagram besides the coffin of her late husband. Her thin arms outstretched to her side like spindly wings, harsh eyes shut in deep concentration. Her cloak fluttered eerily in the nonexistent wind, concealing just how much weight the queen had lost in the past few months due to her quest for knowledge.

On the edge of the pulsing pentagram stood the solemn princess, Eclipsa Marie and her wary companion, Gerald the monster tucked resolutely behind Eclipsa's leg. Eclipsa's face was serious, usually mischievous mahogany eyes shone with maturity, with the weight of a child who had caught a glimpse behind the curtain of adulthood before the tragic play had even begun.

At precisely five o’clock in the morning, Hekatia began the spell.

“Whatever happens, Eclipsa, do not break this circle.” The Queen Mother gestured to the chalked line surrounding the pentagram.

And then the spell commenced.

It was silent, quiet, still, hushed.

No one moved. No one breathed. No one blinked.

Everything was motionless.

Everything was dead.

As though she were one of the ghosts she was attempting to summon, Hekatia began gliding swiftly about the pentagram, surrounding the coffin as she did so. Her steps were lithe, wide, cape swirling about her as if she was The Reaper Himself.

Where The Necromancer stepped, flames of the deepest purple flickered into being, setting the coffin alight with ghostly shadows of tombstones and an eerily dancing purple light.

Hekatia's face shaded with the light, eyes sunken and skin pulled taught upon her face, exposing prominent cheekbones, and a thin, skeletal structure. But her expression was still, at peace even though she was committing the most darkest of magic.

Gerald whimpered behind Eclipsa, and the girl patted his head reassuringly, unsure of how else to comfort him.

When Hekatia stopped, she was in the same place she had began, and the entirety of the circle was engulfed in those deep purple flames. They crackled with the potential for destruction, silently daring any to enter the circle; they were like a barrier ( _whatever_ _happens_ , _Eclipsa_ , _do not break this circle_ ).

_What happens if it breaks, Mother?  
_

Hekatia stepped inside, and the flames responded with a vengeance, flaring up to the sky like a purple light beam of rippling madness. Then they died down to their prior state, and Hekatia was barricaded from Eclipsa within a frosted force-field of magic.

And then the chant began and pressing darkness took hold once more.

The words of power rang strong and true through the still silent night, echoing mercilessly across each and every corner of Mewni. Hekatia's ice blue eyes, tired but still frighteningly determined, opened, and she spoke the darkest spell.

 _I call upon the depths of darkness_  
_To the one who sleeps in stone and clay_  
_Let him heed this call_  
_And rise up to obey_  
_To sweet Death I pledge myself_  
_Bind my heart and blacken my soul_  
_To return to me the life you stole_  
_Let him trek through the Mortal door_  
_Assemble flesh and walk once more!_

Silence.

Nothing.

No flash of light. No iconic coffin shaking.

No rotten hand poking up from the coffin’s depths.

Just still quiet of the waking morning.

There had been a short fleeting moment where Eclipsa was frightened.

She had not been an ambitious little toddler, aimlessly wandering about the twisting labyrinth that was her home.

She was not perfect princess Eclipsa Marie, the daughter of perfect queen Hekatia.

She had just witnessed The Darkest Spell, had summoned it from the depths of her mind, had seen her oh-so-perfect mother commit the most foulest of forbidden magic.

Eclipsa held her breath, feeling the tenseness in the air signifying that the spell had not yet concluded.

And hell was she right.

The sky blackened, the sun blotting out of existence as shadows swallowed it whole, encompassing the entirety of the waking sky as well. Many confused cries of panic rang out across Mewni as various Mewmans tried fruitlessly to understand the blackout. The purple flames leapt hungrily, making Hekatia's stern eyes gleam that same color.

And that's when the coffin jerked. Jerked again. Harder, more forcefully.

Eclipsa held her breath, watching the thing with an intriguing combination of aspiration and uncanny fright.

The lid jumped. Jumped again. Harder, more forcefully.

Hekatia's eyes gleamed with pride and unyielding power. The look was inhuman, akin to that of a brutal dictator finally accomplishing the formidable task of taking over the entirety of the universe.

Silence.

Nothing.

And then the lid snapped open, slamming against the body of the coffin with a decisively dramatic _bang_!

Bony fingers gray as death curled around the edge of the coffin, rotted flesh the color of yellow-grey old curtains beginning to creep, growing along the skeletal hand until the hand filled out like a partially filled balloon.

A finger twitched, dirty fingernails commenced their quickened growth, as though decomposition was occurring in reverse.

All was silent. All was motionless.

All was tense. All was equally foreboding and forbidding.

Except for Hekatia, whose ice blue eyes melted into cool water, and her face flushed with the rosy blush of a little girl. The Queen of Necromancy stepped forward slowly, uncertainly, as though she feared she was in a dream, about to wake up at any second.

She should have been happy for her mother; it wasn't every day that her late husband came back to life.

So why was every bone in Eclipsa's body telling her to run? Why was every nerve urging her to grab her mother and her friend, and never return to this place and to their father?

( _This isn't right, Eclipsa. No. No. Dead people can't come back. No. No. That’s not your father. No. No. That's a corpse. That's a dead dead corpse. No. No. No. No._ )

An arm pale as the palest of parchment, bruised like ink blots marring that parchment emerged from the coffin, and then another arm, and then a sharp shoulder the color of curdled milk jutted out with inhuman speed soon thereafter.

Hekatia stood hopeful, and Eclipsa stood helpless.

( _Eclipsa, Eclipsa, Eclipsa. No, no, no. That's not your father. That's not him. THAT’S NOT YOUR FATHER THAT’S NOT HIM_ )

A head drooping yellow-green-gray flesh rose from the coffin, and milky eyes like marbles stared unseeing from within a gaunt, lifeless face.

Eclipsa stopped breathing.

The dead man, ( _something inside of Eclipsa refused to call him her father_ ) stepped a twig-like leg out of the coffin, his milky eyes becoming gradually more and more life-like, darkening into a mahogany brown identical to Eclipsa’s own. Teal strands of hair burst from the top of the skull, twisting into tumbling curls. The yellow-gray of his skin smoothed into inhumanly porcelain white.

The Good King Roman was almost alive. He was still skeletally thin, and his skin was parchment white, as if it were to break at the slightest bit of pressure, but his flesh no longer looked like a bruise, and his eyes no longer shone like milky marbles within his inhumanly gaunt face and droopy gray grin.

At this moment, Hekatia began to sway. Her eyes rolled back into her head, she let out a strangled cry, and then collapsed into a broken heap on the ground.

Eclipsa let out an instinctive sob, but stifled it with one hand when the dead man finally acknowledged her presence. She looked at him through the barrier that Hekatia had made, heart pounding twice the original pace. _Thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump._

Chocolate eyes the exact same shade as Eclipsa’s rested on the princess, and the dead man opened his gray lips to speak. His voice was of one who had not used his vocal cords in a century. Raspy breathing accompanied every attempted word. “E-Ecl-”

She backed away from him, breathing as raspy as the dead man’s voice.

A brilliant pink flash of light blinded Eclipsa, and an inhuman shriek penetrated the tense air.

“Eclipsa! Get away from him! He's not your father, Eclipsa! Your father’s dead!”

 _Glossaryk_!

The Princess Hurricane’s heart stuttered in uninhibited relief, sweet ease swept through her being at his voice. He was alright.

The white, skeletal form of Roman stumbled under the blast, and horrifying red sores erupted from his skin, spreading like wildfire. He let out another horrifyingly feral cry before the blackened skin knit itself together before Eclipsa’s very eyes, returning to that same ghostly white that it had been.

The dead man stood up, and his eerily white face with the deep chocolate eyes turned to acknowledge Eclipsa once more.

“Glossaryk,” she whispered as he crept closer. “It didn't work…” 

“E-” the living corpse rasped.“Ecl...Eclipsa."

The princess fell silent, just watching this odd skeletal creature with her mahogany eyes and teal curls as it ( _he?_ ) fumbled towards the frosted barrier, stepping clumsily over the prone form of Hekatia Butterfly. Eclipsa instinctively trod back, feeling Gerald’s already unyielding grip tighten on her leg.

Roman’s eyes, still holding some milky residue, softened with something akin to affection, and white spindly fingers reached out trembling as if to touch her face. “Ecli...psa...my...my child...so...beautiful...” Gray lips upturned into a sickening but heartfelt smile, and Eclipsa felt the supposedly unbreakable walls of defense around her heart begin to crack.

Behind her, Glossaryk fell silent with uncertainty, unsure of how to proceed with this new development.

“Eclipsa…” The thing that was King Roman breathed. “My lovely girl…” The pasty, skeletal creature let out a strangled wail, as though he was in pain, and something related to agony flashed in his eyes.

Eclipsa faltered, some aspect of the awe the dead man had cast on her beginning to ebb into concerned panic. The girl took a slight step forwards, towards the barrier Hekatia had created ( _whatever happens, Eclipsa, do not step break this circle…what happens if I break it, mother? what happens if I break it?_ ).

A long white arm extended towards Eclipsa, thin fingertips touching the barrier almost longingly. Roman’s lips upturned in an affectionate smile, and his milky eyes shone with a heartfelt love.

Eclipsa felt her heart swell, and she took a step closer still, placing her own gloved hand upon the barrier where his was.

“Eclipsa…” Glossaryk warned. “Not a good idea.”

She said nothing to the little blue man. She had been wrong about her father. _He_ was wrong about Roman, so very wrong. This _was_ her father, in the flesh and blood. It _was_ him.

_Whatever happens, Eclipsa, do not break this circle._

Eclipsa flicked her gaze to the floor, where her mother’s eyelids flickered against pale, sunken eyelids. Her own gaze hardened, and the hand upon the barrier clenched. Inside the pentagram, Roman watched her sadly, as though death had cast a permanent shadow upon him. His eyes were dark. Worn with a certain grief and pain that only could have come ( _quite literally_ ) from hell and back.

The Princess Hurricane toughened her resolve, and tapped into the unyielding power that stirred vivaciously at the back of her mind.

Her hand glowed with a pulsing purple light, reflecting her magnificent magic and eerily matching the veins blooming upon her wrist.

The barrier didn't budge, didn't melt, didn't _do_ anything.

Eclipsa huffed. Roman studied her pitifully. Glossaryk held his breath.

She placed her hand upon the barrier yet again, dipping deeper into that endless sea of untapped power. In Eclipsa's mind, that's what it was: a harsh, unforgiving ocean, home to the most intriguing of spells, and of the most promising potential.

The purple light glowed deeper, this time. Brighter.

Webbed cracks began etching themselves into the barrier, side effects from Eclipsa's powerful magic…

...then they stopped, and a blast more potent than even Eclipsa's magic forced her away from the barrier. “Eclipsa, no. You were not supposed to touch it.”

She whirled around to face Glossaryk. “Why?! This whole thing is stupid! He's _trapped_ in there and my mother is unconscious! Glossaryk, we have to free them!”

Glossaryk shook his head, gesturing indolently to the fallen Necromancer. “Hekatia knew the risks, and she proceeded anyways. She always was impulsive. And Roman needs to stay trapped; he- _it_ -is not human, no matter how human it seems to be.”

Eclipsa's eyes flashed. “So you're just going to _leave_ them in there? For how long?!”

Glossaryk shrugged. “However long it takes.” He replied tersely.

Eclipsa's breath hitched, heart stopping in her chest. “However long _what_ takes?”

Glossaryk's magenta eyes regarded her carefully, as if she were a delicate porcelain doll capable of shattering into a million intricate pieces. But he said nothing.

Eclipsa repeated her question, more forcefully. “Glossaryk. However long what takes?”

His face grew ashen, as though all of his years of existence had suddenly came into being on his face. For a fleeting moment, Glossaryk looked his true age.

He looked worn. He looked defeated. He looked like someone who had seen too much, and would continue to see too much as his eternal life stretched on.

“When Hekatia dies, the barrier will be broken, and hopefully, Roman will descend to the afterlife once more.”

Eclipsa fell silent for a heartbeat. One mississippi, two mississippi and then…

“ _What?!_ ”

He sighed in such nonchalance that Eclipsa's blood began to boil. “This spell was never meant to take place, Eclipsa. Hekatia quite literally sold her soul to Death in order to bring back her loved one, so Death will take what was promised to him.”

Eclipsa let out a frantic, dry sob as her chest constricted. The word slipped past her lips as a chilling whisper. “No…” Her eyes blackened, becoming stone. The next words escaped her in the form of a hardened spat. “No. They're not allowed to die. Everyone always leaves! _Why does everyone leave me?!_ ”

A small blue hand touched her shoulder in an attempt to console her. “Eclipsa…”

She shook him off, unwilling to submit to stupid displays of pitiable affection. “No. I won't let my mother do this to me. Not again. She's ruined my life one too many times.”

Silence fell. Glossaryk let out a sigh. “Oh, Eclipsa…”

Her head whirled around to look at her solemn tutor and his ageless magenta eyes, suddenly irritated by Glossaryk’s unwillingness to do anything to prevent the seemingly unavoidable fate that was to meet her parents.

He was wrong. Nothing was _unavoidable_.

He was _wrong_.

Something came over her then, something as potent and vehement as a flame. It was as if someone had set a fire to the ocean of magic within her...except the ocean was made of gasoline.

He was wrong and she was going to do something about it.

Eclipsa tore the glove off her right hand, blackened veins underneath seeming to writhe at the fresh air, as though they were alive. Instinctively, the princess extended the hand towards the unbreakable barrier, palm facing out.

Purple light bright as a light beam radiated from that open palm, setting the graveyard alight with an eerie glow.

Behind her, Gerald whimpered softly, and Glossaryk’s eyes widened.

“Eclipsa. No. It's too dangerous. You can’t-”

“ _Open_.”

The voice thrummed with power, enriched with different tones and harmonious in its magnificent being.

The barrier glowed purple.

Brighter.

Brighter.

Brighter still.

The purple became the blinding white of a star.

And then like an explosion of the utmost magnitude, the barrier shattered into a million tiny fractures.

All was quiet, all was still.

And then the unearthly howling began, and Roman’s skin began to blacken, veins the color of the blackest coal etching themselves onto his skin. They began at the hands, like Eclipsa's, then they went on to encompass his arms, spreading to his pasty white shoulders.

Chocolate eyes sparked in panic as the pace continued to quicken, getting faster and faster, blackened skin transitioning to burns.

Eclipsa gasped in shock, instinctively stepping forwards to help.

“I told you not to break it, Eclipsa, and what do you do?! You break it! You should have just let the magic run its course!”

Eclipsa's head swiveled about to look at her tutor. “What, and let my mother _die?!_ I'm sorry, Glossy, but I can't do that.” Her own mahogany colored eyes met her father's, and they softened when they saw the agony in his. “He's in pain…” The Princess Hurricane stepped forward, kneeling besides the dead man. Her ungloved hand caressed the burned flesh that was her father's arm. “He's in pain.” She repeated, sharp mind clicking away, thousands of little Eclipsas running about in a panic, trying to come up with a happy solution, but unable to.

Glossaryk's magic encompassed Eclipsa, trying to force her away. She felt it like it was a riptide current: pulling, pulling, pulling, no mercy; but she fought it with her own magic, and managed to stay at her father's side.

“He's in pain.” She said again, mind becoming clear. “I can end it.”

Glossaryk's attempts to retrieve her doubled in intensity, and Eclipsa toughened her resolve, imagining a purple barrier of her own powerful magic protecting her.

“ _Eclipsa, stop this!_ It won't be long now! You need to let nature run its course! He needs to die!”

Eclipsa's voice was calm, the eye of the hurricane. “Perhaps I cannot save him, but I can take his pain. I can take the darkness surrounding him.”

The spell came easier this time, words inserting themselves expertly in her mind. This was a spell of Eclipsa's own design.

“Don't worry,” she reassured her father. “I'll take it away.”

“ _No, Eclipsa! You cannot interfere with nature’s wishes! You cannot speed the process!_ ”

She took a deep breath, and began.

 _I offer up my very own soul_  
_And give to him my control_  
_To foresee that he is safe and sound_  
_And nature returned to a state of ground_  
_I take from him his darkness_  
_And subject my soul to tarnish_  
_Let him return to his place of rest_  
_His demons and his pain, I wholly accept._

Eclipsa crumbled to the ground.

It was done.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Geez, this chapter was hard to write. I hope it's okay, but I honestly don't love how it turned out...oops


	12. The Princess Hurricane and The Descent of One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a warning: I cried while writing this.

Eclipsa's eyelids felt like they had been sewed shut. She could practically hear the tearing of her skin as she peeled them open, blinking up at her surroundings.

A sloped ceiling of deep mahogany came into view, each individual panel soothingly familiar to the young girl.

Painfully, Eclipsa pulled herself into a seated position, taking immediate notice that her body felt like it weighed a ton of bricks. Curious brown eyes swept the room, soaking in the lacy curtains, the familiar messy vanity and the velvet covers that she was currently nestled in.

She was home.

“Glad to see you're awake, princess. I was beginning to think you'd die in your sleep.”

Her servant was settled in an armchair near Eclipsa's bed, hazel eyes regarding her with some sort of amusement tinted with a small speck of odd concern. Celia’s auburn hair was pulled into a messy bun, and her hands clasped daintily in her lap.

Eclipsa flashed her a tired grin, relieved to see her. “You're cynical as ever, Celia, but it's good to see you too.”

Celia’s lips pulled into a genuine smile, and Eclipsa's heart flourished at the notion that somewhere, _someone_ was worried about her.

Then her undead father’s feral howls echoed fresh in her mind, and the image of the veins creeping up his arms bombarded the forefront of her tired mind.

The pain came again, this time stronger.

Celia seemed to notice, for her eyes sparked in worry, and she was at her friend's side at an instant, placing a wet washcloth onto Eclipsa's feverish forehead. “Are you alright, Eclipsa?”

She shook her head dismissively, attempting to keep the crystalline tears within her tear ducts. “I'm okay.” She said softly.

( _Roman's unearthly cries for help, the blinding light of the barrier as it shattered into a million tiny fractures, Hekatia's blue, blue eyes shaded lavender due to the inhuman purple flames surrounding the circle, The Queen Mother swaying, collapsing, her mourning cries. whatever happens, Eclipsa, do not break this circle. do not break this circle. do not break it._ )

Her fault. Her fault. Herfaultherfault.

_It's all your fault, you insolent little girl! You pathetic little shit, you can **never** get **anything** right!_

Eclipsa couldn't stop the small trickle of transparent tears to slip past the weak barrier she had put into place.

_Your fault. Your fault. Yourfault. Why can't you do anything right?_

Celia said nothing, perhaps knowing attempts to console Eclipsa would only make the situation substantially worse, as Eclipsa shunned excessive displays of affection. The servant just sat placidly at the edge of Eclipsa's bed, watching the princess as she mourned the loss of her father yet again. “Is he…?”

Celia nodded, knowing without really knowing what Eclipsa attempted to convey. Eclipsa echoed the nod with a lamenting one of her own. Celia's eyes flicked down to her own hands, and a small smile graced her feminine features.

Before Eclipsa could ask just what the hell she had to smile about, the girl placed a chocolate bar into Eclipsa's lap.

Eclipsa blinked at it disbelievingly. “What is this for?” She asked dispassionately.

Celia frowned, rolling her eyes at her friend’s evident lack of understanding. “Somebody came to see you, Eclipsa. You were sleeping for a while, so he brought a chocolate bar for you to have once you woke up.”

Eclipsa fell silent, her mind comprehending just who would be stupid and heartfelt enough to bring her candy in an attempt to lift her spirits.

Her mind came up with nothing but the image of a scrawny little boy with large, inquisitive green eyes and a cloud of orange hair, mouth pulled up into a mocking ( _but somehow horrifyingly adorable_ ) smirk.

Eclipsa let out a long groan, putting her face in her hands. “Ugh, that _idiot_.”

Celia laughed at her reaction, hazel eyes twinkling with unconcealed mischief. She wiped a single tear from her eye with one flourish of her hand. “Actually, he-”

The door to Eclipsa’s room opened with a decisively loud slam, and a particularly sweaty gentleman with skin as white as paper and wide brown eyes that took up the majority of his face peered into Eclipsa’s room, locking eyes with the princess. Upon seeing that he had so clearly interrupted something, his expression transitioned from that of panic to something resembling sheepishness. “Uh, Princess Eclipsa Marie-”

“Eclipsa.” She corrected absentmindedly.

An embarrassed blush mantled upon his cheekbones, and the man cleared his throat, regaining whatever little composure he began with. “Uh, right. Eclipsa, your presence is being requested in your mother's room. She's pretty adamant on speaking with you.” His face went pale again, and mahogany eyes sparked in unbidden fright. “Your majesty,” he whispered dreadfully. “She's not well.”

Eclipsa dropped the chocolate bar at an instant, and hauled her tired body up to go see Queen Hekatia, moving as quickly as she possibly could.

_Your fault. Your fault. Your fault._

\--  
\--

She bore the startling impression of a much older woman, oddly lost and small in the enormous mound of pillows and blankets. Servants gathered in clusters surrounding the corners of the room, like pesky little shadows. Like Eclipsa, Hekatia did not enjoy having people fawn over her wellbeing.

Hekatia had always been pale, but now she was as white as one of the ghosts she revered so much, as skeletal as the corpses she attempted to revive.

There was a certain thread of irony to this: so obsessed with the idea of resuscitation, that her death was to come because of it.

Pale eyelids fluttered rapidly, concealing ice blue eyes from Eclipsa; perhaps Hekatia was attempting to keep them open, fearing that if she closed them, then that would be the last time.

Even still, Hekatia retained the utmost poise and prompt as she lied upon her bed, her face haughty until the end. She displayed bravery as any good queen would, and should do: perhaps figuring that now was as good a time as any to begin acting as a role model, rather than immersing herself in dark magic and queenly duties.

Small whisperings began tittering when The Princess Hurricane entered the bedroom of The Queen Mother, as though this was the sight of the century. Eclipsa hated them all; she couldn't just have a moment with her mother without being scrutinized.

How _horrible_ this world was.

Hekatia's blue eyes fell upon Eclipsa as she sat upon the bed besides her, lips pulling up into a surprisingly cynical smirk. “Oh, Eclipsa Marie,” she sighed. “How many times do I have to tell you to do as you're told?”

Eclipsa was stunned into silence at first, but judging by the jesting light in her mother's fading blue eyes, the queen was attempting some pitiful humor as a last ditch effort.

This was worse than Eclipsa thought.

“I'm sorry, Mom,” she replied softly. “I thought I could help him.”

Her smirk gave way to a more genuine smile. “I know, child. I know.” Her trembling hand gripped Eclipsa’s tightly, bringing it up for a reassuring kiss. “Your heart is too big, Eclipsa dear. But I know you try.”

She felt the tears begin to commence their horrible journey yet again. “It's all my fault,” she whispered, voice cracking. “It's all my fault.”

Hekatia shook her head, gripping Eclipsa's hand tighter within her own. “No, no, no, dear! No! It was not your fault. It was my own; I was foolish enough to tempt Death and it ended up biting me in the ass. I just made that barrier to protect you and to protect him. His body couldn't sustain the outside air, and I was… afraid of what would happen if he was allowed to roam freely.”

Eclipsa became suddenly aware of the many pairs of eyes surrounding her and her mother. She began to boil with anger. Anger at herself, anger at her mother, anger at _them_. She swiveled her head about to glare at them, teal curls ruffling with the motion. Her eyes flashed dangerously, and many servants grew pallid, knowing not to mess with Eclipsa while she was in a mood. “Will you all just _leave us alone_? Can't I just have a few more moments _alone_ with _my mother_?!”

Hekatia stared at her daughter in silence, her hand stroking Eclipsa's in attempted reassurance. When it was evident that Eclipsa most definitely meant business, Hekatia nodded her heavy head ( _Eclipsa_ _flinched at just how much effort that seemed to take_ ) and waved the servants away with a nonchalant hand.

When they were gone, everything came rushing in like a waterfall, a barrage of the greatest emotions that Eclipsa had managed to suppress behind a seemingly unbreakable dam for so very long.

Anger, betrayal, grief, weariness, despair.

They all came in the form of unbidden crystalline tears and heartbreaking sobs.

Hekatia, uncertain of just how to comfort her child, merely pulled her to herself, allowing the young girl to rest her head upon her bony chest. This only made Eclipsa cry harder, for not only did she become immediately aware of just how much weight her mother had lost, this was also the one and only time when The Queen Mother displayed any sort of affection towards her single daughter.

“It's alright, darling,” The Necromancer whispered. “I’m here, and nothing can hurt you anymore.”

Eclipsa wrenched herself out of her mother’s grip, indignantly wiping tears from her red rimmed eyes. “Stop _lying_ to me!” She cried. “You're _not_ here! You're _dying_ and it's all because of that stupid _stupid_ magic!”

Hekatia's eyes were solemn, annoying in their elderly potent wisdom and poise. “It's an addiction, Eclipsa. Roman wasn't the only one I contacted in my quest to bring him back.”

Eclipsa blinked in bewilderment, mahogany eyes growing wider with astonishment. “What?”

“I contacted other queens, Eclipsa. That's how it began. I searched tirelessly for a way to bring him back and it ended up consuming me completely. Just look.” She pulled down her gloves, exposing veins of black burned into her skin, mingling with a deep purple the color of her cheek marks. They entwined with each other, every individual blending with another to form an opaque black, unfeeling and foreboding.

Eclipsa stared at them for a long moment, with Hekatia trying to discern her indiscernible expression.

_Do you see what darkness does to you, Eclipsa?_

Silently and swiftly, Eclipsa pulled off her own gloves, unconcealing budding purple veins of similar magnitude. Only now, the darkness had spread to her fingertips, turning them entirely black.

She supposed taking the darkness from Roman wouldn't leave her entirely untainted.

Hekatia took Eclipsa's hands in her own, letting out a shaky breath as she traced the veins with her own deathly cold hands. “Oh, Eclipsa. Why don't you ever do what you're told? I told you not to break the barrier and _when you broke the barrier_ , Glossaryk told you not to interfere with the natural process!”

Eclipsa began to fume; now her mother was yelling at her, how exceedingly normal. The tears came again, but these were indignant where the others were lamenting. “Excuse me?! No one ever told me what you were attempting to do! If I recall correctly, you were the one who coaxed me into writing The Resurrection Spell in the first place!”

Hekatia fell silent, the horrid reality setting in that she had been the primary reason for Eclipsa's wrongdoings yet again. Her head fell into her hands. “This is all my fault,” she cried softly. “I did this to you, Eclipsa. Glossaryk was right; I am the reason you're like this. It's because of me that you're...you're... _tainted_ …” The Queen Mother broke off into uncharacteristically broken sobs, her skeletal shoulders heaving with each one.

Eclipsa began to worry that Hekatia would break at each brutal cry. She crawled upon the bed, snuggling up next to her mother's side. Eclipsa tucked one thin arm around herself, maneuvering her head into the place where Hekatia's shoulder met her chest. The Necromancer stiffened at the unexpected contact, but her arm tightened protectively around her daughter, and the second hand came up to run reassuring strokes through Eclipsa's nest of curls.

Eclipsa wasn't positive, but she could have sworn Hekatia pressed a chaste kiss to the top of her head before relaxing.

“I'm sorry, Mom. I keep getting you worked up.”

Her voice was deathly soft, barely a whisper. The hands continued running languid caresses through Eclipsa’s many tangles. “It's alright, darling,” she heaved a great sigh. “It's alright.”

Silence fell for a brief moment, and then Eclipsa grew anxious at the lack of speaking. “Mom?”

The strokes paused for a second, then they resumed. “Yes, sweetheart?”

“What happened to Gerald?”

Hekatia's answer was straightforward, cutting in its brevity. “I sent him away, Eclipsa. A monster has no place in a Mewman princess’ life. Please understand that I did what was best for you, and that Gerald will be alright without you.”

Usually, Eclipsa would be keen on arguing with Hekatia, but now, she felt nothing but a dim disappointment. “Oh.” She said softly.

Quiet descended once more before Eclipsa worked up the courage to ask her more pressing question. “Mom?”

“Yes, Eclipsa?”

She paused, and then, “Do you love me?”

The soft strokes came to a crashing halt, and Eclipsa could practically feel the surprise radiating off of her mother, could feel it transition to self-loathing. “Of course I do, Eclipsa.”

“Like, really, really love me?”

“Really, really.”

Eclipsa pressed her face into her mother's shoulder, breathing in her familiar lavender scent. “I love you too, Mother.”

Hekatia chuckled affectionately, pressing another kiss into Eclipsa's hair before the pair descended into silence once more.

\--  
\--

Time seemed to pass by with frightening speed. Minutes were seconds, seconds were milliseconds, milliseconds were nanoseconds. To the queen and her uncharacteristically solemn little daughter, it didn't seem to be enough. No matter how much time feigned innocence, it would always be the greatest antagonist in the end.

The unbeatable villain.

The formidable foe.

The unyielding ruffian.

Necromancer and Hurricane, however foolish the notion might have been, kept their eyes firmly off of the clock, perhaps employing the childish idea that if the problem was not acknowledged, then it was not promptly there.

They sat in comfortable silence. Mother and daughter. Daughter and mother. Eclipsa's tiny body was ensconced tightly in her mother's protective embrace, with Hekatia and her fading spirit attempting fruitlessly to keep her placated.

Death payed his dreaded visit at precisely noon.

It began with a tenseness to the air, and a tightening in Hekatia's body language. Her muscles stiffened, arms wrapping instinctively tighter about her only daughter. Then went her heart, rocketing at breakneck speed.

_Ka-thump, Ka-thump, Ka-thump, Ka-thump._

The first sign Eclipsa noticed was the sudden lapse in her mother's soothing touch, and the sudden tightening in her embrace.

The second thing Eclipsa noticed was the irregular breathing pattern; it began with a hiss inhalation, and then a groan to exhale, then again, then again and then once more. The next breath appearing more and more difficult.

The third sign was Hekatia's fluttering eyelids, and her uncharacteristically frightened demeanor. Pale lids closed and opened, then closed and opened again, each time she opened her eyes they shone a bit paler, almost a monotonous gray color.

The last and final sign was her hand dropping from Eclipsa's head, and sliding down to meet the covers. Eclipsa shook her head, snuggling in deeper to her mother's shoulder like a frightened little girl. “No…” she whimpered, stifling a sniffle. “No, Mommy, please don't leave me.”

She hadn't called Hekatia ‘Mommy’ since she was five.

Hekatia gave no answer.

Eclipsa's heart thrummed in panic, and she pulled herself up to meet her mother's fading eyes. She looked pale, gray, old, skeletal and composed.

Eclipsa couldn't stand it.

She placed her hands atop her mother's bony shoulders, shaking her awake. “No! No! Mom, Mom, Mother, _Mommy_! You can't do this to me! You can't leave me all alone! _Please_!”

Hekatia's blue eyes opened once more, and rested affectionately on her daughter. A blackened hand came up to wipe a stray tear that had wandered. Eclipsa held it to her face.

Then Hekatia the Necromancer smiled one last time. As if to convey to Eclipsa that everything was going to be alright.

Even if it wasn't.

“Don't try to bring me back, sweetheart. It will only make things worse. Always remember who you are, Eclipsa. You're _strong_ , full of _light_ , filled with untapped potential and love. Don't let anyone _ever_ tell you how you should live. I never should have held you back.”

She was sobbing now. “No...no, Mommy, no…”

A single tear trickled down The Queen Mother's face. “Be strong now, my child. You have to be strong. I know you don't believe it, but I do love you. I have _always_ loved you.”

Eclipsa's bloodshot eyes widened, and through the tears, she could make out her mother's barely perceptible smile.

“I think that's the first time you've ever said that to me.” She whispered.

Silence.

“Mom?”

Nothing.

“Mother?”

Complete and utter quiet.

“Mommy?! _Mommy_?!”

She was met once again with nothing but the eerie sound of silence and a still, cold body where Hekatia once lied, a mere remnant of the queen.

Once again, Eclipsa was rendered alone.

\--  
\--

She burst from her mother's room ( _no longer her mother's room, she was dead_ ) tears flying unbidden down her face. She flinched away from the many servants that tried to console her, only wanting one touch, one voice in her ear, one person telling her that everything was alright.

And that person was gone forever.

Eclipsa let out a broken sob, forcing herself to run faster.

She was unceremoniously brought to a screeching halt when one brave soul stepped in front of the grieving princess, grabbing her arms with strong hands.

Eclipsa retaliated immediately.

“Let go of me! _Let go, I said_!”

“Eclipsa?! What's going on?”

She stopped crying immediately, lifting her tearful gaze to look into inquisitive emerald eyes and a pair of lips pulled into a worried frown.

The princess only grew more irritated.

“Get _off_ of me, Thomas!”

She pushed him away from her, spinning on her heel to run the other way.

“Eclipsa!”

She ignored him, running faster when hearing his pounding footsteps racing after her.

“ _Leave me be_!”

Apparently, Thomas was quicker than Eclipsa, for he caught up to her within seconds, wrapping his arms inhibiting around her waist, lifting the irate girl off the ground.

Eclipsa fought him mercilessly, digging her teeth into his arm, kicking her feet petulantly, crying out in lamenting pain and uncanny rage.

But still, Thomas did not relent his hold on her, and eventually, Eclipsa's struggles slowed, her kicks becoming less frequent, indignant cries becoming more and more like suffering sobs.

Thomas shifted his position, tugging the grieving girl into his chest, wrapping his arms protectively around her. Eclipsa sobbed harder, clutching his arms with her tiny hands and inhaling his unique scent of pine and firewood. He brought up a trembling hand, cupping Eclipsa's head.

The sobs became whimpers, and Thomas’ hands came up to run comforting circles upon her back. She didn't know what came over her, but something inside of Eclipsa starved for any type of contact.

And Thomas was here, he cared enough to console her.

Eclipsa was sure no one cared as much as Sir Thomas The Annoyingly Persistent.

So when her voice finally made its way out from its prison, it was meek and scared. No wonder Thomas was perturbed; he had only seen the side to Eclipsa that abhorred any type of pity.

“Will you...will you stay with me?”

Thomas tightened his grip on Eclipsa, and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. She snuggled deeper into his chest in response, and heaved a shaky sigh.

Thomas’ chin rested atop Eclipsa's head, and she could feel the vibrations of his voice when the answer finally came.

“Always.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I love this chapter and I wanted to crank it out as quickly as I could...sooo it ended up coming out today. I'm happy to say that I'm proud of how it turned out. Hope you all enjoyed!


	13. The Princess Hurricane and The Ascent of Another

She remained entirely shut in her room for nearly two weeks, only leaving to get food and water and to use the bathroom. Even then, those periods were sparse and brief.

Eclipsa was one of independence and solidarity, so it would not be too out of range to assume that she spent these two weeks by herself, but surprisingly to Eclipsa, this was not the case.

Even though Eclipsa shouted at any servant who dared confront her, Celia, ever the determined one, came back again and again. So often did Celia bear Eclipsa's various tantrums and uncaring whims, that she was one of the few who became accustomed to Eclipsa's indignant rage and purposefully hurtful commentary.

And of course, Thomas Thatcher was not one to turn his head away from someone in need, especially when that someone had red spades upon her cheeks and a messy abundance of tiny curls.

How annoying. He had a crush.

It began similarly to the servant situation; Thomas would attempt to console Eclipsa, and Eclipsa would quite literally spit back in his face, slamming the door in the abashed boy’s face.

Eclipsa was bothered to realize that Thomas was just as, perhaps more, resilient than Celia. And even after all her curses, irate gestures and insults, Thomas would keep coming back for more.

She probably shouldn't have told him to stay that first night; the idiotic boy probably felt obligated to help her, no matter what she did to protest.

He most probably theorized that underneath her shell of independence, brusqueness and insolence, Eclipsa very much starved for human contact. Needed it like air to breathe.

It disturbed Eclipsa just how stubborn he was.

It also disturbed her just how well he knew her.

Despite Eclipsa's attempts to remain alone, Celia and Thomas grew closer and closer to breaking the seemingly unbreakable walls that she had closed around herself. Even to the point where Eclipsa accepted Celia's help from time to time, didn't protest the special breakfasts that the servant made for her, didn't disregard the little touch ups that the girl did to the princess’ originally untidy room.

It got to the place where Eclipsa let Celia into the area beyond the walls, allowed her trusted servant to guard them with her.

Thomas took a little longer for Eclipsa to trust, but not entirely forever.

It began with the nightmares. Bone chilling nightmares filled with the utmost terror, with woven tales of dead corpses brought back to life and horrible mothers with eyes like bitter ice that disregarded their children until they were upon their death bed. Bodies with droopy gray lips, gray-yellow skin the color of moldy bread, and chillingly seeing misty eyes like spherical marbles.

Eclipsa didn't know just how loud she would scream until her undaunted, idiot protector came barging in the room, carrot hair shining in the moonlight, and emerald eyes sparkling in panic.

At first when he came, Eclipsa would instinctively skitter to the corner of her room, collapse into a little ball of stubborn princess and wait for Thomas to leave.

For seconds, minutes, hours...

...however long that took.

Then it progressed to Eclipsa ordering the boy to the armchair next to her bed with an irate finger, while Eclipsa watched him with the distrust of a cat, eventually leading her to fall asleep yet again.

Then came the worst nightmare of them all.

( _I never loved you, you pathetic excuse of a princess. your father never would have loved you and neither will anyone else. you're **tainted**. **tainted** , Eclipsa Marie, **tainted**. the darkness has its hold on you and it will never let you go. never ever. never ever. it never let me go so why should it let you go? oh, insolent little Eclipsa Marie, you're heartless, spineless, loveless, repugnant, hopeless...you're **nothing**... **nothing**... absolutely positively fucking **nothing** …_)

She woke up screaming, her mother's denigrating voice fading to nothingness ( _nothing, nothing, nothing, tainted, tainted, tainted, heartless, spineless, loveless, **no one will ever love you**_ ).

The awakening screams were bone chilling in themselves, harsh screeches that penetrated the very walls of the ( _hers now_ ) castle. They interrupted the soft silence of the night, awakening the many sleepy servants present.

No matter how hard she tried, no matter how hard she _screamed_ , Eclipsa could not get the fear to go away.

The cries began to take the form of a name, one that she never dreamed of uttering prior to Hekatia's death.

“ _Thomas!!!_ ”

Over and over and over.

“Thomas! Thomas! Thomas! _Thomas!!!_ ”

In he burst like a scrawny knight, kind emerald eyes sweeping Eclipsa's shaking form for injuries that she could have possibly inflicted upon herself. When he spotted none, he was by her side within a heartbeat, grabbing her arms with strong hands, holding the princess in place.

“Eclipsa?! Are you alight?!”

“ _Does it look like I'm alright, you asshole?!_ ”

With that charming statement, she pulled the startled boy unceremoniously upon her bed, curling into his side like a daughter would her mother. The Princess Hurricane pressed her head into his chest and wailed, sobbing brokenly. She felt his tangible surprise at first, then he snaked his arms protectively around her and pulled the girl closer to his chest, tracing idle patterns upon her back. Eclipsa couldn't be positive, but she could have sworn the little boy began singing as well.

( _Oh lord, just what have I been reduced to?_ )

But following that night, Eclipsa's final barriers surrounding her heart shattered, and she would simply refuse to sleep without Thomas in the room, even on a relatively good day.

Surprisingly enough, he was a requirement.

\--  
\--

“Why did you come back?” She asked him softly one night as he ran his deft fingers through her tangles.

His answer was immediate; Thomas was purely honest, if nothing else. “I had nowhere else to go.”

Eclipsa's deep mahogany eyes looked up into his from her position against his side. His stared right back at her, emotions unbidden in curiosity, intrigue and affection. “What do you mean?” She asked next, head tilting inquiringly.

His eyes became opaque then, clouding over with unexpected sadness. “Eclipsa…”

She placed her gloved hand upon his in a rare affectionate gesture. “You can tell me.”

His hand came up to tuck a stray curl behind her ear, and then Thomas chuckled, eliciting confusion and a bit of impatience from his friend.

She frowned. “What? Do you find something funny, Thomas Thatcher?!"

He laughed harder; apparently he found her to be amusing.

“Thomas…” she growled warningly.

He stopped laughing, solemn look replacing the amusement. Eclipsa immediately backed off, as Thomas was currently doing a very good impression of late Queen Hekatia; older than his years and achingly sad with grief. His gentle hand came up yet again to tuck that obstinate teal curl behind Eclipsa's ear. She waited patiently for his explanation.

“I'm sorry. It's just different: seeing you like this. You've... _changed_ , Eclipsa. And I'm happy that you've decided to open up to me. It means a lot.”

She narrowed her eyes, not falling for his pitiful diversion. “You're stalling.” She accused.

He chuckled mirthlessly. “Well, perhaps I am.”

Eclipsa blinked at him in uncharacteristic patience.

He ran an awkward hand through his cloud of pale red hair, flashing an uneasy grin to Eclipsa. “Do you remember when I told you that you reminded me of my sister?”

Eclipsa nodded. “The one who…” She didn't trust herself to say the dreaded word, even now, when the wound had partially scabbed over.

Thomas pursed his lips in...discomfort? Grief? Nostalgia? Eclipsa knew not. “Yes. That one.” He replied shortly.

Silence fell for the briefest of instances before it began to feel uncomfortable. Eclipsa waited patiently for Thomas to continue.

“Well… she died because of this...illness that was going around England.”

Eclipsa blinked.

“England is a country on Earth.” Thomas confirmed. Eclipsa nodded, satisfied with the answer. Thomas hesitatingly went on. “It spread quickly, Eclipsa. None of us were sure how to stop it. And then it took hold of the rest of my family. Mother, Father, little Fay…” he trailed off, wiping a sliding tear from his cheek. “All of them...”

“But you weren't?”

He looked up at her with eyes like easily breakable glass. “Your servant found me shortly after Fay died. She came through a portal, telling me that you were in danger. I had nothing left, so I fled to Mewni to find you.”

Eclipsa went silent, placing her head softly upon his chest once more. His hands came up to encircle her yet again, one resuming the languid strokes in her hair, the other keeping her firmly at his side, as though he feared that she too would disappear.

Like the unnamed sister, like his mother, like his father, like poor little Fay.

“I'm sorry.” She said softly.

“It's not your fault, Eclipsa."

“I know,” she said. “But I'm still sorry.”

He pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, but he didn't answer.

\--  
\--

“Are you ready?”

“No.”

“Come on, Just Eclipsa, you have to be ready. You're supposed to be a princess.”

She cast a mocking glare to her only friend, and scoffed in his general direction. “Queen.” She corrected irately.

He smiled genuinely. “Not quite yet, Eclipsa. That's what today's for.”

Eclipsa rolled her eyes, floofing her teal curls with one careful hand. Ugh, why the hell were they so uncooperative today? She groaned, leaving Thomas to chuckle at her. He tugged on a curl affectionately, before tucking it behind her ear, eliciting a bright scarlet blush to mantle upon Eclipsa's cheekbones.

“Eclipsa,” he chastised playfully, cuffing the back of her head. “You have to be ready for this; you _are_ ready for this.”

She looked up at him with tearful brown eyes. “I don't want to.” She whispered. “It's too soon.”

His expression softened. “I know,” he said, wiping a tear from her cheek. “But sometimes we have to do what we don't want to do. Especially when something happens that's out of our control. It's just how the world works.”

She embraced her friend, tugging her arms around his waist and burying her face into his chest. Thomas wrapped his arms around Eclipsa as well, resting his chin comfortably upon her head. Eclipsa forced herself to relax, listening to Thomas’ steady heartbeat and even breathing. “Why?” She whispered.

He pressed a kiss to her head. “Why what?”

“Why is the world so cruel?”

Eclipsa felt Thomas shake his head upon the top of hers. “I don't know.” He answered solemnly. “I really don’t know.”

\--  
\--

Celia had done her up special yet again, this time showcasing Eclipsa's maturity and poise; her qualifications to become a good queen. Instead of shimmering silver sparkles on a tulle ball gown of a mere princess, Eclipsa donned a simple maroon dress that swept the floor in subtle elegant layers. Sleeves belled out around her slim arms, and gloves of similar color adorned her hands, concealing the purple veins underneath. It was the type of dress that covered every single inch of skin, showing off Eclipsa's feminine silhouette without showing her off. Around her neck was a small silver pendant she had stolen from Hekatia's room when the staff had begun to remove the queen’s possessions. Celia had touched it briefly, before smiling gently, and letting it settle around Eclipsa's neck once more.

When Celia's back was conveniently turned away, Eclipsa tossed her favorite maroon hat upon the top of her head, feigning innocence when Celia frowned in subtle annoyance.

“No, Eclipsa. You need to wear the crown. You're going to be queen now, and queens don't wear hats, they wear crowns to demonstrate their power and authority.”

Eclipsa scoffed. “That's dumb.” She stated petulantly. But she allowed Celia to place the golden crown atop her head amidst the nest of teal curls that Thomas loved to tug.

Celia stepped back, allowing Eclipsa to get a good glance at herself in the mirror.

The Princess Hurricane was impressed by Celia's handiwork, but she was not satisfied.

Not in the slightest.

Unlike the time at the ball, Eclipsa's countenance did not accurately represent her; where dark lashes and smoky eyelids showcased her deep mahogany eyes, there was now a light shade of pink, a subtle contrast to Eclipsa's dark eyes. And now her pale skin flushed a deeper shade of tan, a light ( _artificial_ ) blush gracing her cheeks. Eclipsa's lips painted pink, in contrast to that one amazing makeup job at the ball Queen Hekatia had thrown for her, where Eclipsa looked like a princess of the night.

Now she was a prissy porcelain doll.

Ugh. Celia _why_?

Sure, it was _pretty_ but it wasn't _her_.

Eclipsa folded her arms in an indignantly petulant manner, perfectly shaped eyebrows furrowing together into one.

Celia looked up at her knowingly, rolling her eyes in exasperation. “I know you hate it, but we don't want them to be _afraid_ of you, Eclipsa. You're no longer that rebellious little princess; now you're the leader of a kingdom, and you have to look the part.”

Eclipsa frowned, trying to fight back tears with feigned annoyance. Unfortunately for her, Celia knew her better.

“It's not _fair_.” Eclipsa said softly. “Why me?”

Celia shook her head, returning her attention to smoothing Eclipsa's already immaculate dress. “I don't know, dear. I really don't know.”

\--  
\--

The coronation happened quickly. One minute she was princess, the next minute, queen. Eclipsa turned out the majority of the ceremony, fighting back tears the entire time she was upon that pedestal, being showcased in front of Mewni like a fancy new outfit.

A sea of faces greeted her, many blending into one solid sheet of people. But Eclipsa could easily discern expressions if she looked carefully enough.

Some looked relatively hopeful, but the majority shone with unconcealed, or partially concealed trepidation.

It seemed The Princess Hurricane’s reputation preceded her. She wasn't sure whether or not that was a good thing.

Eclipsa looked for Thomas in the crowd, but she did not catch sight of his iconic tangerine curls amidst the Mewman crowd. Eclipsa wasn't sure why, but some part of her was disappointed that she couldn't find him. Instinctively, she knew he was there; he would never leave her alone, but being by her lonesome on the pedestal felt odd after all the time she had spent in the company of another.

It was finished in an instant. The person coronating her said some mumbo jumbo about queendom, responsibility, the glorious light of a new age, _perfect Queen Eclipsa Marie…_

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

It was just like being a princess, but now she was being scrutinized a hundred fold.

By her oh-so-loyal subjects.

How absolutely dreadful.

For the umpteenth time, Eclipsa fought back tears and cried pointlessly for her mother. Why did she do this? If she really loved her, then Eclipsa wouldn't have been going through this right now. She would be laughing boisterously, running amok anywhere she wished to go, free, no responsibilities, no rules.

Instead she was chained to her duties, no light at the end of the tunnel.

The man snagged her gloved hand, raising it high above his head. “Behold! Eclipsa Marie Butterfly! The new queen of Mewni! All hail Queen Eclipsa!”

The returning cry was weak, a sparse few  echoing the call. “All hail Queen Eclipsa.” They muttered, much to the amusement and shame of the newly crowned queen.

Some clapping commenced, a few uneasy stares snuck Eclipsa's way, nervous snickers traveled to the newly coronated queen by way of wind.

They already hated her.

Perfect. Queendom was going to suck.

\--  
\--

  
Following the coronation, Hekatia's funeral came and went with simple brevity, a quiet, small ceremony with only five guests. It startled Eclipsa just how few people actually cared about her mother, and made her achingly upset just how the people of Mewni reacted to her death.

Even though everyone commented on just how excellent Hekatia had been at her job, none of the queen’s oh-so-beloved subjects had the audacity to show up at her funeral.

It was Eclipsa, Thomas, Celia, Glossaryk, and the queen’s personal advisor, Rodrick.

And that was all.

Eclipsa remained silent throughout the entirety of the ceremony, clinging to Thomas’ hand as though it were her lifeline. The priest droned on and on, spinning tales of a larger life than the one on Mewni, reciting his stories of a bigger power than Mewmans themselves, of an afterlife filled with lovely clouds of shimmering rainbow and every thing you could possibly want.

A fantastical place of wonder and dreams, a perfect place almost as perfect as The Great Queen Hekatia herself.

Despite the mourning and the sniffles that she had heard amidst the dwindling number of guests, Eclipsa stifled a mirthless chuckle with one hand.

If the notion of an afterlife were true, Hekatia would not be there.

The Princess ( _Queen_ ) Hurricane had a slight inkling, a blooming instinct that her mother was somewhere else entirely. Wandering alone aimlessly, cursed to exist as a fleeting spirit in punishment for disturbing others.

How ironic, and how achingly sad.

Eclipsa tucked her head into the perfect place where Thomas’ neck met his head of tumbling curls, stifling her newfound cries for her mother. He held her to him tightly, whispering comforting sweet nothings in her ears and running light fingers through her hair.

“Princess-er-Queen Eclipsa Marie? Would you like to say a few words?”

She emerged, mahogany eyes dry but holding a glitter of reminiscent mourning. She nodded shakily, slipping her hand out of Thomas’ when he attempted to come with her to the coffin.

His company was much appreciated, but this was her duty and hers alone.

As Eclipsa looked upon the few familiar faces of hers and her mother's friends ( _the brusqueness attempting to mask the sorrow in Rodrick’s blue eyes; Glossaryk with his cynical smirk and mocking, but affectionate wave to Eclipsa; Celia and her unusual vulnerability, stripped to a mere shell of her former self, one who wept instead of laughed, one who cowered instead of sticking her chin up in undaunted ambition; Thomas with his achingly soft smile and emerald eyes that sparkled with the unconcealed human emotions of empathy, comfort for Eclipsa and a twinge of unexpressed sorrow: for his family, for Hekatia and for Eclipsa_ ), the words came to her easily, as easily as the dark spells had. As she looked upon their faces, she could read the expressions and interpret them to be similar variations to hers.

And this, ultimately, was what gave Eclipsa the confidence to continue.

Unfortunately, her mouth did not seem to want to cooperate with her brain.

She cleared her throat awkwardly. “Uh, hi?”

She was met with blank stares. Thomas snickered. Eclipsa glared at him. He stopped.

“I suppose I have to talk about my mother, huh? I mean, I don't really have much to say; she never was that great of a mother to me.”

A few agreeing nods, some pitying stares. Eclipsa went on.

“My mother wasn't perfect. At all actually. She lost her husband too early, became consumed in her grief and longing. So consumed that she ended up dabbling in darkness that I will not even mention, simply because it will tarnish the good image that many of you hold of her. But I will give you this: Hekatia was determined. She was insane, sure, but she never backed down from a challenge. My mother was a good leader; she never faltered, never looked back upon her responsibilities. Hekatia wasn't a good mother. I can attest to that. But she was a hell of a good queen, and she had a hell of a good heart. Even though she never blatantly expressed affection, you could tell that she cared. She cared about her kingdom and she cared about her subjects. Now she's left this to me…and I'm going to be honest: I'm not ready. I'm not ready to take on her role. I'm not Hekatia. I'm Eclipsa. Insolent, sarcastic, blunt, rebellious and untamed Eclipsa. I'm not Eclipsa Marie. I'm not Hekatia Butterfly. I'm simply a little girl who wished for a life other than what she has. I'm just a little girl who wished…” Eclipsa trailed off, stifling a cry with a trembling hand. “...who wished that her mother was still here. I'm just a little girl who doesn't want to be queen. I'm just...stupid, stupid little Eclipsa. I'm just me. And I can't… I can't… I can't do this…!"

Eclipsa took off running, ignoring the protests behind her. She kept running and running as far and as fast as her little legs could take her. Because if she ran away fast enough, she could escape it all. She could escape the responsibilities that Hekatia had unceremoniously thrown on her, she could escape all her subjects and their distrustful glares.

She could escape the title of being _Queen Eclipsa._

_She could escape it all if she kept running.  
_

But one can't run from their problems. As the saying goes: _you can run, but you can't hide._

Eclipsa was already trapped, ensnared in her duties to the kingdom.

Because when one descends, another has to ascend.

( _Why is the world so cruel? Why me?_ )

And sometimes, the world and it's ironically twisted ways have no meaning.

They make no sense whatsoever.

( _I don't know, dear. I really don't know._ )

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this chapter's kinda boring, but I wrote it like a bunch of one shots on purpose cause I wanted to capture what happened after Hekatia's death and establish a basis for the reign of Queen Eclipsa. Enjoy!


	14. The Queen of Darkness and Her Stardust

_15 Years Later_

The little one had none of Eclipsa's features, did not inherit her mother's teal curls nor her deep mahogany eyes that could either resemble melted chocolate or a deathly sharp stake. The baby had none of the wrinkles, nor was she burdened with the exhausted creases that had etched themselves into her porcelain skin.

The baby was nothing short of innocence incarnate, a jovial light of happiness and bubbly charisma. Where Eclipsa was a deep stain upon the monarchy of Mewni, her daughter was poised to become something else entirely.

Some part of Eclipsa hated that baby. She hated all the potential that she had, all the potential that she herself had wasted.

The baby had all of Thomas’ features. A head of curly orange hair just a touch darker than her father's, with emerald eyes that sparkled with untold amounts of naïveté and childish wonder. The little princess had cheeks adorned with pale orange little flowers, the markings of a future queen. With a light dusting of freckles upon her cheeks, pale porcelain skin like unblemished cream and a innocuous sunny smile, the princess was the epitome of a light beam. A small flame capable of hope and warmth for those who needed it. Eclipsa touched a blackened hand to her infant’s cheek, slightly frowning at the contrast.

Darkness to light.

Like she was a danger to her child.

Regardless, the infant let out a bubbly giggle, gripping Eclipsa's blackened hand with her own chubby fingers. Emerald eyes the same shade as her father's watched her curiously, lips pulled into her characteristically warm smile.

Despite the bitter resent, Eclipsa couldn't help but smile back at her infant, watching her toothless grin widen into a sleepy yawn. Eclipsa gripped her baby’s tiny hand, pressing a soft kiss to the top of her smooth forehead and whispering comforting words to her little princess.

Princess Luna. Her Stardust.

Luna’s large emerald eyes shut, her face relaxing into that of a peaceful slumber. Eclipsa scooped the child up from her crib, and into the crook of her arms. The place where Luna lied was perfect, as though she was meant to rest right in her mother's arms. The little princess held one of Eclipsa's fingers tightly in her surprisingly strong grip, subconsciously bringing it to her mouth.

The queen’s other hand came up to gently brush her auburn curls away from the baby’s cherubic face. Luna's lips curled up in a small smile.

“I'm not surprised, your highness. She looks absolutely nothing like you.”

Eclipsa looked up from the snoozing infant in her arms, resting her gaze upon her longtime servant.

Celia hadn't changed much since she first began serving the devilish little princess called Eclipsa; her hazel eyes still sparkled with cynical mischief and her auburn hair, although peppered with white, still pulled off its messy bun effortlessly. “Thanks so much Celia. Perhaps that's a good thing.”

Celia snorted, resting a gentle hand atop the baby’s head. Her eyes gazed lovingly upon the beautiful child; Luna had won her over immediately, Eclipsa knew. “Oh, it's most definitely a good thing, dear.” Celia said bluntly, keeping her eyes firmly on the sleeping Luna. “You never were a very attractive child.”

Eclipsa cuffed the back of her lifelong friend’s head playfully, feigning hurt. Celia just laughed, and Luna stirred in her sleep, as though the unceremonious waking was wholly unsavory to her tastes. Eclipsa smiled at the infant lovingly, before frowning at the sight of Luna sucking on one of her blackened fingers

( _I told you not to dabble in dark magic, Eclipsa Marie. Now your little Stardust is going to pay the very dear price for that. You'll see._ ).

With a hitched gasp, Eclipsa wrenched her finger out of the baby’s mouth, hurriedly setting her back in the crib amidst the endless mounds of pillows and blankets. Eclipsa pulled the mauve gloves back on her hands, masking just how far the darkness had spread.

( _You can't conceal it forever, Eclipsa._ )

Eclipsa pressed her hands to her head, forcing the imaginary denigrating voice out of her head that sounded suspiciously like Queen Hekatia the Necromancer. In the crib, Luna dozed peacefully, unaware of her mother's inner crisis. Celia, who was well aware of Queen Eclipsa's _affliction_ , merely watched her solemnly. “You need to end this, your majesty.” She said. “You have a child now; how do you think your spells will affect her?”

Eclipsa stayed in the corner that was farthest away from her little Luna. Her deep mahogany eyes flicked up to meet those of Celia. “I don't know, Celia,” she whispered in a rare display of vulnerability. “I can't stop, though. Not now, not ever. Not even for Luna. It's too...intoxicating.”

Celia nodded solemnly. “I just remember what it did to...to Hekatia, Eclipsa. It led to her death, and to your tainting. Remember?”

The answer came in a breathy whisper. “Yes. I remember.”

“Do you want that for Luna?”

“No.”

Celia's gaze was morbidly triumphant and oddly pitiful. Her eyes softened when they saw the heartfelt pain in Eclipsa's. “Then stop this, Eclipsa. You can stop. I know you can.”

She shook her head, casting a glance to the sleeping Luna. “I can't. I’m not strong enough. I've never been strong enough.”

Celia clasped her hands atop the wooden crib, studying Eclipsa sadly. “You sell yourself short, Eclipsa dear. You're stronger than you think.”

Eclipsa shot her a cynical smile. “I'm only strong in dark magic, and that's what's causing the problems.”

Celia sighed noisily, and lifted the snoozing baby from her crib, tucking the infant soundly against her chest. “I can't do this with you right now, Eclipsa. Your mother warned you about this stuff, and now you're putting Luna in the exact same position. Think about that.”

And with that ominous statement, Celia left the room, Luna ensconced tightly in her loving embrace. Eclipsa looked down upon her gloved hands, and pulled the gloves up farther, as to conceal the darkness more.

\--  
\--

It was quiet where Eclipsa worked; she purposefully chose a location deep down in the bowels of the castle, where none dared go, and darkness reigned supreme.

She wasn't sure whether she chose it because it was undisturbed, or because she was ashamed of her addiction and thought that surrounding herself in infinite night would be a suitable punishment for her wrongdoings.

Still, Eclipsa and her spellbook were the only two who were the regular inhabitants of this dark cave of forgotten rubble and entwining roots.

And this was exactly what Eclipsa preferred ( _Are_ _you ashamed, Eclipsa Marie? You should be. It's a danger to you. It's a danger to Luna. It's a danger to Thomas. It killed me quickly, dear; how long do you think you have?_ ).

She pursed her burgundy painted lips together ( _Shut up, Mother_ ) and forced the unwanted thoughts out of her head.

Silence was a common occurrence down below in Lair Eclipsa ( _as Thomas oh-so-kindly nicknamed_   _it)_  so it came as a shock when it was this very quiet that made the pattering footsteps all the more noticeable.

“I see you're down _here_ again.”

Eclipsa shut her eyes, trapping an exasperated sigh between her teeth. Of course he would be the only one to bother her in her workspace. The Queen of Darkness shut the spellbook with a flourish of her blackened hand, and spun elegantly on her heel to meet the troubled gaze of King Thomas. “Hello Thomas,” she greeted with barely concealed irritation. “Was there something you needed? Because I'm rather busy at the moment.”

Thomas’ emerald eyes, unaffected by years and years of kingly duties and common dealings with Eclipsa's dark magic, looked at her unfazed. “Luna’s awake, Eclipsa.” He said. “Awake, crying, and looking for her mother.”

Eclipsa shut her eyes once more, this time unable to stop the exhausted hiss that escaped her. She placed her gloves back upon her hands, once again masking the darkness. Of course Luna was crying. That was all she ever did.

Cry, cry, cry.

Laugh, laugh, laugh.

Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle.

Still, Eclipsa could not bring herself to take out her frustrations on her husband’s tiny doppelgänger, ( _Even if once, Eclipsa had been the very same. Able to laugh guilelessly without any sort of bitterness. Able to run around without being judged mercilessly by her subjects. Able to do whatever she wanted, be whoever she wanted_.) so she followed Thomas up the winding staircase to where Celia held the fussy child tightly in her arms, as to keep the thing from dropping.

The exhausted Eclipsa took Luna from the grateful servant, watching as the crying ceased immediately, descending into heartfelt bubbling laughter. A small hand came up as to reach for Eclipsa's nose, pink lips pulling into an adorable little smile when The Queen of Darkness lowered her face to allow the contact.

Luna's tiny fingers gripped Eclipsa's nose tightly, and her laughter bubbled up into a naïvely merry gurgle.

Eclipsa, despite the physical pain, couldn't help but laugh along with the child, eyes of deep mahogany melted into rich chocolate meeting those of innocent crystal green.

Eclipsa could almost pretend that prior to this encounter with her daughter, she hadn’t been working on a spell to destroy an immortal being. She could almost pretend that she was a normal mother to her innocent little baby.

She could almost pretend that she herself was as unblemished as her daughter.

It was almost as if Luna didn't need the wand; her presence alone was strong enough to keep the stirring darkness at bay.

\--  
\--

“This has been going on too long,” Thomas said to Eclipsa as she sat down with Luna. “I understood it when your mom died, but that's past now. It's time to give the darkness up.”

Eclipsa averted his scrutinizing stare, keeping her gaze firmly locked on her beloved infant, whose emerald eyes gleamed with unbidden curiosity, puzzlement, and awe. “I know, Thomas,” Eclipsa said softly, shifting Luna's position. “But it’s not that easy. You don't understand how amazing it is to feel that powerful, that in control. It's _brilliant_.”

( _But is it brilliant, Eclipsa Marie? After all, you were the one who incarcerated yourself in the basement, away from anyone who could possibly see just how far you've gone. You don't love it; you're trapped by it._ )

“I don't believe you.”

Her eyes were opaque, unyielding in their mystique. “No?”

Thomas shook his head, his short red hair ruffling with the motion. “No. I think it's taken you over, Eclipsa. You've never liked the power it gave you, but it liked you. You may be able to lie to Celia, The Magical High Commission and to your subjects, but you've never been able to lie to me.” His hands clasped her own, larger fingers encompassing her small, deft ones. Eclipsa looked at them solemnly, memorizing the slight dusting of orange freckles and the shape of his hands as though the darkness would take him away too. “I know who you are, and it's not this person.”

Eclipsa looked up at her husband, into those emerald eyes that were exactly reminiscent of her daughter’s. “I don't even know who I am anymore.” She said dryly. The time for tears was long gone; now there was only enduring the pain, and living with the chains of queenship.

Luna yawned underneath Eclipsa, tucking her head into Eclipsa's chest. It seemed it was time for the infant’s nap once more. The Queen of Darkness smiled slightly, running gloved fingers through Luna's orange tuft of hair.

When Thomas spoke again, it was softer, reminding Eclipsa more of the little scrawny boy who had comforted her in times of great sorrow, the little boy whom she had fallen in love with. “I see the Eclipsa I love when you're with Luna,” he said. “She's amazing in many ways, but the way she's most amazing is in what she does to you.”

Eclipsa's slight smile grew, and she pressed a featherlight kiss to the baby's head. But she said nothing, knowing that not even little Luna could save her from the darkness.

_Four years later_

“Mommy! Mommy! _Mom_!”

Eclipsa pressed one hand to her temple, while the other scratched words of ultimate power upon an open page of the spellbook.

_I summon the All Seeing Eye-_

“Mom! Mom! Hewwooooo Mom! _Mommy_!”

_To tear a hole into the sky-_

“Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom!”

_Reveal to me that which is hidden-_

“ _Mooooooooooooooooooommmmmmmmyyyyyyyy_ "

Eclipsa snapped the book shut, releasing a cloud of dust particles. She stifled a familiar sigh ( _she called them her Luna Pains_ ) and turned to look at her only daughter. Eclipsa’s voice was deceptively calm, lips pulled into a thin smile. “Yes, Luna?”

Luna's crystal green eyes lit up into twin pillars of fire upon being acknowledged, and she shot her mother a toothy grin. “Watth thith!!!” she cried, her voice lisping.

Eclipsa watched.

Luna's grin remained and she held her hands above her head before catapulting herself into a bizarre parody of a handstand, her little legs flailing wildly before she slammed into the dark cement with a sickening _boom_.

Eclipsa's mild interest gave way to maternal panic, and she was besides her fallen daughter’s side at an instant, umbrella wand glowing gold with healing magic.

Only Luna didn't seem injured. Not in the slightest.

She was giggling. Wildly.

Eclipsa let out another of her Luna Pains, allowing the golden light emanating from her wand to die down. “Luna, what was that?”

Luna blinked innocently up at her mother. “Did yoo thee?” She asked. “Did yoo thee the twick?”

Eclipsa nodded, gripping her daughter’s hand, and pulling her to her feet. “Yes, dear, I saw the trick.”

“Did yoo like it?”

“Yes, Luna, but no more handstands where Mommy works, okay?”

Luna's smile dimmed fractionally. “Okay.”

Eclipsa sighed in relief and went back to her spell.

_I summon the All Seeing Eye_  
_To tear a hole into the sky_  
_Reveal to me that which is hidden_  
_Unveil to me what is fore-_

“What’th thith?!”

_Crash_!

Silence. Eclipsa shut the book once more, going to see what Luna had done this time. She was greeted by a sheepish princess and a growing hole where the concrete had been, steaming with purple magic and adorned with shards of glass.

“Oopth.”

Eclipsa sighed yet again, taking her daughter’s hand and kneeling down to check for any sort of magical injury.

“Sowwy, Mommy.”

Eclipsa looked up into her daughter's eyes, anger draining away when she saw the heartfelt pain residing there, threatening to spill over in the form of crystalline tears. “It's alright, my Stardust. But if you want to stay down here while Mommy works, then you can't touch anything.”

Luna's lips trembled.

Eclipsa's eyes narrowed. “Luna… you have to promise me. No more exploring in Mommy’s workspace, or else Daddy’s not going to let you down here anymore.”

Luna frowned petulantly, but she held out her pinky, waiting for Eclipsa's to entwine with it.  
“I pwomith.”

Eclipsa smiled, and humored Luna's wishes by shaking her littlest pinky three times.

Luna giggled, encompassing The Queen of Darkness in a hug much to big for her little body.

Eclipsa chuckled, unable to stay angry at Luna for long.

“What the hell is going on down here?!”

Eclipsa swore under her breath. Luna tensed.

“Uh oh. We in twuble.”

Eclipsa brushed Luna firmly behind her, meeting the gaze of her husband.

“Eclipsa?”

She sighed. “Nothing happened, Thomas. Luna just broke something, that's all.”

His eyes erupted into seething anger, two twin pillars of emerald flame. "She _broke something_?! And that's _nothing_ to you?!”

Luna whimpered and tucked herself closer to her mother. Eclipsa shushed her. “No, of course not.”

“Well what did she break?”

“Oh, just a disintegration potion that I threw together…”

Thomas’ eyes shut, and his head fell into his hands. His body radiated disappointment. “A disintegration potion. Right.”

Eclipsa remained silent.

“She's _four_.”

“I know.”

“ _Do_ _you_?!”

Luna poked her head out from behind her mother’s skirt. “Daddy, Mommy’th been playing with puwple ligth’th!!! I’th cool! Eyeballth and thtuff.”

Eclipsa's heart dropped. Damn Luna and her flippant mouth.

“‘Eyeballs and stuff’?” He echoed incredulously.

“It's just a spell I’ve been working on.”

Thomas went eerily quiet, scarily calm, and then Luna was being dragged out of the basement kicking and screaming, leaving Eclipsa alone with her darkness and her self-loathing.

\--  
\--

“Ith Daddy mad at me?”

Eclipsa tucked the blankets around her little one, making her as comfortable as humanly possible. “No, my Stardust. He's mad at me.”

“Why?”

“Because I'm a bad girl, Luna.”

Luna burst into uninhibited laughter then. Eclipsa, who didn't see her comment as a joke, remained silent.

“You'we funny, Mommy.”

“Thank you, Luna. I haven't heard someone call me ‘funny’ in quite a while.”

Luna yawned, clasping her mother's gloved hand within her smaller ones. “Mommy?”

“Yes, child?”

“Why can't I thee the eyeball thpell?”

“Because it's not good, dear.”

“Yeth it ith,” Luna countered. “You'we tho good at magic.”

“Not good magic, Luna. It's not good magic.”

Luna yawned once more, shutting her crystal green eyes. “Can I come back tomowwow?”

Eclipsa shook her head. “No, Luna.”

“Why?”

“Because Daddy doesn't want you to.”

“Do yoo wan’ me to?”

Eclipsa brushed a hand against her daughter's pale orange flower, in reminiscence of a caressing kiss. “Of course I want to see you. But he's right. Not in Mommy’s workspace.”

Luna yawned, maneuvering herself into a sleeping position. “Okay.”

Eclipsa's lips pulled into a smile. “Okay.”

“I love ooo, Mommy.”

“I love you too, Luna.”

And then Luna fell asleep, and her mother pressed a kiss to the top of her head, using her magic to materialize a small fluffy bear besides her daughter.

Luna's little arms tucked around it immediately, and her lips curled up subconsciously.

Unbeknownst to Luna, the creation of that little bear was the first light magic that Eclipsa had used in a near twenty years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SURPRISE! I used another of jgss0109's characters, and am modifying it to my designs. I feel like a horrible person, but I'm doing it anyways because I absolutely love them and I am obsessed with them. Geez that sounded blunt. I mean no harm by writing them into my story; they're just so perfect I have to include them. Ok there's my rant on THAT. 
> 
> Also thank you all for taking the time to read and appreciate my story. It means a lot to my self-deprecating soul that you guys like it. 
> 
> ok, bye!


	15. The Queen of Darkness and The Magic High Commission

_Four Years Later_

It was approximately three o'clock on a Friday afternoon. Eclipsa got the call at two, and begrudgingly left her beloved work and her beloved Stardust to go see whatever the hell The Magic High Commission wanted.

Eclipsa hated the lot of them. Senile, whiny babies that were given way too much control and thought themselves way too powerful.

Let's just say that Eclipsa would have rather been doing anything else on a Friday afternoon other than paying a visit to the Musty Old Crew whose Egos Were Much Too Large For Their Heads.

To Eclipsa, they were simply boring, and boy did she let them know her opinions on the matter.

She made her presence known by casting a dark shadow upon the star setting this dimension alight, creating a total solar eclipse.

Eclipsa resisted the urge to laugh.

Well, Luna thought she was funny, after all.

The Queen of Darkness entered the tall building radiating annoyance. She waltzed in with a deliberately apathetic air, eyeing the drab decor with a lengthened sweeping gaze that eventually landed on the trembling doorman cowering underneath the desk.

Oh, right. His name was Sean.

Eclipsa took a seat in front of Sean, surveying him with mild interest. The doorman’s antlers poked up from behind the desk, followed by a large green nose, and dark piggy eyes that watched her with the utmost fright.

Eclipsa tilted her head mockingly, bringing her blackened hand up to her face to buff her dark fingertips. Her eyes flicked to her fingers, and then with deliberate slowness, back to the terrified Sean. “There are still muffins in the lobby, right Sean?”

Sean nodded, pointing a trembling hand to a door to the right of him. Eclipsa shot him a thin smile, stood up, and sauntered to the lobby, snatching a chocolate chip muffin in a small hand.

With a wave to Sean, and a bite of her muffin, Eclipsa flourished her umbrella, and absconded to the top floor where the Old Goons were presumably waiting for her.

If it had been anyone else, presumably anyone less intimidating, Sean would've probably reminded them of the _no magic_ rule of the building. But considering Eclipsa’s...formidable...reputation, Sean knew better than to provoke her.

 _Especially_ when she was in a mood.

The wooden doors to the top floor burst open with a sharp bang, and in walked The Queen of Darkness, clad in her iconic maroon hat, white collar, dainty flats covering her tiny feet and dark eyes that hadn't lost that mischievous glitter from the days of childhood.

Eclipsa took a deliberately slow bite of her chocolate chip muffin, uncaringly wiping the residual crumbs from her burgundy painted lips with one black hand.

Eclipsa shot The Magic High Commission a mocking smile laced with chocolate. An oddly menacing look, but The Queen of Darkness pulled it off, for the four winced in apparent trepidation.

Good. They understood just how much Eclipsa hated them.

Hekapoo cleared her throat, her visible amber eye watching Eclipsa with the utmost distrust. Eclipsa's mocking smirk turned down into a genuinely annoyed frown as she turned her gaze upon the emo flame princess thing. Of all the Council Members, Hekapoo had to be the one who annoyed her the least, but Eclipsa was still in a very bad mood, and she was in no position to humor the woman. Eclipsa waltzed into the room, spindly fingers trailing languidly over many of the Council’s priceless decorations.

Hekapoo cleared her throat once more, folding her paper white arms in increasing irritation. Eclipsa took a seat in one of the floofy armchairs, allowing a glimmer of amusement to encroach her expression.

Hekapoo had _spirit_. How entertaining.

Eclipsa spoke first, deciding that this silence was characteristic in its annoyance. “Well!” She gasped in faux delight, drumming her fingers lazily together. “It's certainly a pleasure to see you all.”

She was met with four glares, but nothing vocal.

Eclipsa went on, turning her gaze to Omnitraxus, whose blank eye sockets narrowed inside of that crystal ball of his. “Hello, Omni.” Eclipsa said before shifting her gaze to the goat chancellor with the long spanned bat wings. “Chancellor Lekmet,” Eclipsa dipped her hat to him, shifting her gaze to where Hekapoo was eyeing her with complete abhorrence. She shot the scissor forger a thinly veiled smirk. “H-poo.” Hekapoo’s eyes flashed, and Eclipsa’s deep brown eyes turned to meet the single one of her least favorite council member. Rhombulus’ single dark eye narrowed inside of his odd crystal head, and the two snake hands hissed at the inpassionate Eclipsa. She wiggled her fingers at the enraged creature, smiling mirthlessly. “Rhombulus,” she greeted in a deliberate drawl. “Good to see you're still ugly as ever.” Eclipsa tilted her head in deceptive guilelessness. “How's that anger problem of yours? I'd like to assume you'd even _attempted_ to change, but alas,” Eclipsa smiled innocently. “You're just as _pathetic_ as ever.”

Rhombulus let out an animalistic cry, shooting a flurry of crystals Eclipsa's way. She held up a dispassionate hand, and the crystals shimmered with purple light before shattering into countless infantile shards. The creature let out another scream, lunging at Eclipsa, who merely raised an eyebrow, brushing the crystal shards indolently off of her personage.

"Rhombulus stop!” Hekapoo cried.

Lekmet baaed indignantly.

Rhombulus stopped, and looked at the two of them before glaring at Eclipsa yet again. “You're _mean_.” He stated petulantly.

Eclipsa blinked. “Right.” She turned to Hekapoo, clasping her hands together. “So! Was there a _reason_ you brought me here other than to waste my time?” Eclipsa crossed her legs. “Or can I go?”

Hekapoo shifted uneasily, and Lekmet’s yellow eyes narrowed distrustfully, his bat wings flapping slightly, uncomfortably. “We have to talk to you about your...daughter.” Hekapoo said.

Now Eclipsa looked at her, all traces of her pride wiped away, leaving a distrustful queen. “What do you want with my Luna?”

Hekapoo's eyes flashed with uncharacteristic fear, but she remained silent. And that was all Eclipsa needed to know. Her hand pulsed with dark light, setting her gleaming eyes in deep shadow.

“Let me repeat this, slowly if necessary.” She stood effortlessly, taking a slight step forwards. The council took a large step back. “What. Do. You. Want. With. Luna.”

Omnitraxus was the one who spoke next. “Queen Eclipsa. It's not a good environment for her with your…”

Her voice was deathly soft. “With my what?”

Omnitraxus shrunk back under Eclipsa's sharp glare but he didn't answer.

Eclipsa took another step forward, her hand erupting into purple flame. “With my _what_?!”

Hekapoo stepped forwards, amber eyes unflinching. “With your _dark magic_ , Queen Eclipsa. We know what happened with Hekatia Butterfly, and what happened to you because of it. Do you want the same fate for Luna?”

Eclipsa loosened her offensive stance, allowing a bit more of her usual arrogance back into her body language. “What do you propose, Hekapoo? You have approximately ten seconds before I blast you into countless dust particles.”

“There's a new reform school that just opened up.” Hekapoo said quickly. “How about we enroll your daughter? Just for...precautionary measures.”

Eclipsa waited for a heartbeat before extinguishing the flame. “No.” She said simply.

“Your majesty, you are a danger-!”

“I said _no_. Luna stays with me. End of discussion.”

“My queen-!”

“I said _no_!” Eclipsa's eyes flashed purple, and then Hekapoo was rising in the air, her dainty white hands gripping at her tightening throat, small booted feet kicking pointlessly. Eclipsa's hand outstretched and clenched. Hekapoo let out a breathy sob. “Luna stays with me. I am her _mother_ and I will continue to _act_ as her mother.” Her hands clenched a little tighter, and Hekapoo’s eyes widened in fear.

“Queen Eclipsa!”

" _Stop it!_ ”

“Baaaaaaaaa!”

Eclipsa ignored them all, only having eyes for the suffering woman in the center. Her hand clenched a bit tighter, and Hekapoo gasped. “Luna stays with _me_.” Tighter. “She's _my_ daughter.” Tighter. “ _Mine_.”

Sobbing. “Eclipsa, let her go!”

“ _Hekapoo_!"

" _Baaaaaaaaa_!”

The light surrounding Eclipsa's hand turned a sickly green; the color of pestilence, of plague. And soon enough, the flame upon Hekapoo’s head transitioned from hearty orange, to weakened yellow and eventually to that same eerie green color.

Then it began to shrink.

“ _My_ daughter. _Mine_.”

“Eclipsa, _stop_!”

“ _Please! Please! Please just don't hurt Hekapoo_!"

“ _BAAAAAAAAAA_!!!!!!”

Eclipsa's eyes narrowed and her hand clenched into a fist, the words coming to her thoughts as easily as they had the very first time.

“ _I call the darkness unto me…_ ”

All went silent. Hekapoo continued struggling, her flame dimming, dimming, dimming. Her legs kicking, kicking ( _slowing_ ), kicking.

( _Bad, bad girl, Eclipsa Marie. You know what it did to me, and you didn't listen. You insufferable girl, you're **weak**. The darkness is stronger than you are and it's not going to let you go!_ )

“ _From deepest depths of Earth and sea_ …”

“What are you doing? _What the hell are you doing_?!”

( _Unless you fight it._ )

“ _From ancient evils unawoken..._ "

( _Eclipsa, Eclipsa, Eclipsa. You know what the darkness wants. It wants her soul. Do you want her soul, Eclipsa Marie? Are you a murderer?_ )

“ _Break the one that can't be broken_ …”

Hekapoo's green flame flickered. Eclipsa's eyes flashed green.

The council was in near tears, none able to move, nor able to speak. But Eclipsa didn't care. This bitch threatened her Luna. She threatened _her Stardust_.

( _Think about Luna, Eclipsa Marie. Think about how Luna would react to her mother's murderous rampage. Do you think she'd be **proud**? Of **murder**? If you do, you're sadly mistaken._ )

Eclipsa frowned, and the green light flickered purple briefly. She said the next line with the faintest bit of hesitation.

“ _To blackest night, I pledge my soul_ …”

Hekapoo sobbed, crystalline tears flowing down her face. Deep down inside The Queen of Darkness, there was a war. A war between the darkness and her very own subconscious. Deep down, Eclipsa knew that this was wrong ( _Eclipsa Marie, you're better than this, you're better than I was…)_ , but the other part was apathetic towards Hekapoo’s dwindling life.

“ _And crush my heart to burning coal_  
_To summon forth a deathly power_  
_To see my hated foe devour-_ ”

“ _Eclipsa! Stop!!!_ ”

She stopped as if she were waking up from a dream, watching as the black stain upon her arms grew, watching as Hekapoo collapsed, her flame returning to a pale yellow, watching as the council members rushed to her side, watching as they stared Eclipsa down with glares of complete and utter fear. Eclipsa let out a gasping sob, curling in on herself as Thomas came into view, his emerald eyes equally concerned and frightened.

Eclipsa's voice was a dreaded whisper. “What have I done?”

Thomas put a single arm around her back, leading her swiftly to the door. As though she were underwater, Eclipsa heard him call out an apology to the council.

“What have I done?”

Thomas said nothing, taking her umbrella calmly away, and continuing to lead her to the elevator.

Anywhere away from The Magic High Commission.

His silence only made her more panicked.

“Thomas, what have I done?!”

He looked at her once they were in the elevator, watching the uncharacteristic tears as they fell unbidden down her cheeks, watching her hands tremble, and snake around her middle as to protect her from herself.

“T-T-Thomas?”

He let out a frightened sigh, pulling Eclipsa into a shaky hug. She accepted it readily, bringing a trembling hand around his head, snuggling her own head into the crook of his neck. “It's alright,” he whispered. “We’ll figure this out, Eclipsa. I promise.”

She sobbed freely, lifting her head to look at the darkening veins upon her forearms and her hands. Suddenly she hated them and all they stood for. She was to be a _murderer_. _A murderer.  
_

( _Do you see what darkness does to you, Eclipsa?_ )

Eclipsa closed her eyes, shutting the spreading darkness from her view.

_Yes, Glossaryk. I have a pretty good idea._

\--  
\--

When Eclipsa made it back to her room, she changed into her night clothes and immediately climbed into bed. No words to anyone, no goodnight story for Luna. She didn't even allow Thomas into the room tonight for fear of what she could do, and just for a longing of solitude.  
She sighed noisily, climbing into the covers and laying her head upon the pillow.

Eclipsa shut her eyes, trying to erase the horrid memories from earlier with the promising allure of sleep.

Unfortunately, it seemed sleep wasn't going to take her all too willingly.

The door opened with a slow, deliberate creak, followed by a small padding of footsteps, each one getting louder and louder as they got closer and closer to Eclipsa’s bed.

Eclipsa's eyes snapped open, all events from this afternoon long forgotten.

In a flash her hand was engulfed in purple flame, revealing large, sheepish emerald eyes and shining orange flowers upon cherubic cheeks. Eclipsa relaxed, extinguishing the fire quickly, and clicking on the light.

“Luna,” she gasped. “You scared me. Is everything alright?”

Luna's eyes were startlingly frightened, and her lips trembled with fear. With a single movement, the little princess lunged herself at her mother, throwing tiny arms tightly around her. Eclipsa, who was unused to this sort of behavior from Luna, merely hugged the little girl back, unsure of how else to comfort her.

After a few moments of disheartening whimpers and sobs, Eclipsa pulled Luna up into her bed, tugging the little thing against her. Luna still fit against her perfectly, making Eclipsa suddenly glad she took the measures she had to ensure her daughter's safety.

“Luna,” Eclipsa began softly. “You still haven't told me why you're crying, lovely.” The Queen of Darkness ran gentle fingers through her daughter’s sleek orange hair comfortingly. “What's wrong, my Stardust?”

Luna shook her head petulantly, curling tighter to her mother's side. “Nuh-uh.” She muttered.

Eclipsa frowned, suddenly activating tough mother mode. She pulled Luna away from her, forcing the little princess to meet her gaze. “Luna, unless you tell me what's wrong, I'm not going to let you stay here, understand?”

Luna nodded, tears making her emerald eyes glossy. “Yes, Mommy.”

“Okay.”

“I had the dream again, Mommy.”

Eclipsa stifled a sigh, allowing the little girl to curl against her once more, and beginning the languid strokes through her daughter's hair again. “The very same one?”

Luna nodded against her. “Uh-huh.”

Eclipsa smiled slightly at the reluctance in her daughter's tone. “Can you recap the nightmare for me, sweetie?Sometimes if you say them aloud, then they aren't really that scary.”

Luna heaved a shaky sigh. “You disappeared, Mommy,” she said softly. “One minute you were there, reading me a bedtime story and then you left. I could never find you, Mommy. Never ever.”

Eclipsa shut her eyes, some little selfish part of her relishing in the fact that Luna’s recurring nightmare involved the absence of her mother. The absence of Eclipsa.

The Queen of Darkness pressed a soft kiss to her child's head. “It's alright, Luna. I'm not going anywhere.”

Luna pressed her face tighter into Eclipsa's side. “I don't want you to leave, Mommy.” She said in a muffled sob.

Eclipsa let a small smile grace her features as she looked down upon her special one. “I won't leave, Luna. My home is wherever you are.”

Luna's teary emerald eyes looked frightenedly up into her mother's encouraging ones. She held out her pinky finger. “Promise?”

Eclipsa's smile grew wider, and she shook the pinky finger three times as per tradition. “Promise.”

Luna looked satisfied enough, and she curled back into her mother's side, shutting her eyes.

“Would you like me to read you a bedtime story, Luna?”

Luna nodded sleepily. “Uh-huh.” She said with a yawn.

Eclipsa smiled down at her daughter, preparing herself for a story that she knew by heart. “Once upon a time, in a kingdom right across from ours actually, there lived a beautiful princess named Anna and her sister, Elsa…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own Frozen. If I did, Anna would have really cool fire powers to combat Elsa's ice powers. 
> 
> I actually really wished I owned Frozen. Dang.


	16. The Queen of Darkness and The Forgotten Friend

It had been a while since she had laid eyes upon her elusive friend.

She hadn't seen him in a near twenty years, the last date being the day that her mother sacrificed her life to see her dead husband one more time.

He _had_ changed, just as she did. The most noticeable difference being size. Where he had once barely reached Eclipsa's shoulders, he now towered over her; her head met the point of his elbow, if she stood on her tippy toes ( _not something Eclipsa felt inclined to do_ ). The second most noticeable change in her companion was the growth of his hair; where it had only been a small white tuft, it now cascaded to his trunk-sized waist.

But his eyes still shone the same amber, perhaps without guilelessness, but not without the same kindness that Eclipsa had known all those years ago.

The initial meeting began like this:

Eclipsa often took morning walks, sometimes with, sometimes without her daughter. It depended on the queen's present mood. This current day, Eclipsa and Luna were strolling through The Forest of Certain Death. Eclipsa, of course, kept Luna close to her, for fear of losing her. It would be wise to mention that Luna joined this venture a bit late, due to her clandestine spying on her mother. This, and her inevitable busting by Eclipsa, was the primary, if not only reason why Eclipsa allowed Luna to traipse about The Forest of Certain Death with her.

And so Eclipsa took the necessary precautions that came with having a naïve eight year old Mewman princess in a rather foreboding forest that hid some of the most dangerous of creatures.

But not even Eclipsa could protect Luna from everything.

So when the five men shrouded in dirty rags and shadows leapt from the trees, Eclipsa was caught off guard.

When the five men in the rags took hold of Luna's tiny hand and pulled them to her, Eclipsa did not react fast enough.

And when one man yanked the young princess’ back to his chest and deftly pulled a dirty knife to her throat, his dark eyes gleaming with murderous intent, Eclipsa could do absolutely positively nothing.

Unless...of course, she wished to put Luna's life at stake, which was beyond out of the question.

So Eclipsa and this man were at a standstill, an impasse of sorts, with the man’s equally dirty and equally intimidating ( _Eclipsa would never admit that little piece of information aloud_ ) friends flanking him and Luna on the left and right.

The middle man pointed a second filthy knife to Eclipsa, lips pulling up in a sadistic smirk. “Cough it up, if you want this little one to live.”

Eclipsa of course, responded with brusqueness, easily masking her panic at seeing Luna so utterly helpless. She simply stuck her chin in the air, placed both hands on her hips, and dispassionately surveyed the various knives being pointed her way. “Now, now,” she drew out in a deliberate drawl. “Is that any way to treat a lady?”

The middle man sneered with growing indignancy, pressing the blade of the knife deeper into Luna's throat. Luna remained completely still, her wide, innocent emerald eyes looking tearfully up at her mother.

Eclipsa's gaze hardened. “How rude,” she said mockingly, folding her arms across her chest. “You should always answer the queen when she speaks to you directly.”

The man to the far left spoke up, yellow teeth baring at her like pieces of rotting corn. Eclipsa fought the sudden urge to throw up. “We don't follow _you_.” He growled. “We're our own tribe.”

Eclipsa hummed thoughtfully, drumming a thin finger contemplatively upon her chin. “Hm, how intriguing.”

The man with the corn teeth smirked, as though he thought Eclipsa had given him a compliment. Eclipsa rolled her eyes. _Idiot_. “Yeah. It is in-in-intreeegeeengg.”

Eclipsa blinked. “Right,” she said. “Now that we've established that you're all quite _intriguing_ , we should probably be going.” She reached for Luna's hand, preparing herself to fight for her daughter's safety.

It was no surprise when the man with the opaque black eyes smacked Eclipsa's hand away, offering an animalistic snarl in warning. Luna whimpered softly. “Mommy?”

Eclipsa shook her head, tensing her body into a defensive position. “What do you want?” The question was no longer playful, but cutting deep in its maliciousness.

It was suddenly evident to the five men that Eclipsa was angry, and that the impulsive decision to bring her daughter to the brink of death had not been one of their wiser decisions.

But it wasn't as if they were to back down anytime soon. After all, if Eclipsa recalled any stories of wild men who traipsed about The Forest of Certain Death, calling themselves ‘The Tribe’, it was that they prided themselves on their brutality and courage, and they were stubborn to the very bone.

How unfortunate, because Eclipsa was very much the same way.

A man, one with dirty blond hair ( _both a color and an insult_ ) slunk towards Eclipsa, spindly fingers reaching out to caress her face, then sliding down her side to her handbag. Eclipsa twisted her head away in defiant revulsion. The disturbed man simply laughed. “We want whateeeever you've got in that pretty little handbag, beautiful.”

Now Eclipsa was upset, and it happened to become one of those common times where she acted irrationally. She flashed a scowl to the man, and spit on his shoes, crossing her arms petulantly in response.

All was quiet for a heartbeat, and then all hell broke loose.

It began with the bloodcurdling sounds of Luna's frightened screams. Screams that would echo ceaselessly through Eclipsa's mind until her untimely demise.

The man in the center yanked Luna's hair none too kindly, before digging the knife further into her throat, drawing drips of scarlet. Luna's tears flowed unbidden down her cheeks, mingling with the crimson of her own blood. Eclipsa winced as one of the tribe members grabbed her arm, and it took all of her willpower not to use any magic for fear of risking Luna's life.

The blond man’s grip tightened on Eclipsa's arm to the point of bruising, and he pulled his face to Eclipsa's ear, lips brushing her earlobe. The gesture to some, would appear to be affectionate, but all present saw the situation differently. His breath was warm on her neck, moisture collecting on her skin. The odor was indescribable, like rotting meat and moldy cheese mixed together. Eclipsa scrunched her nose in disgust, heart pounding mercilessly from fear and anger. Right now, she couldn't tell which was more prevalent.

“You shouldn't have done that, sweet pea,” the disgusting man whispered seductively, teeth scratching the surface of her ear. “Your daughter's gonna pay for your mistakes now, right after you.”

The man chuckled mirthlessly before his teeth nipped her ear, the potent smell of his breath spreading like wildfire through her nose.

And then he was wrenched away from Eclipsa, and two very large red hands gripped the sides of his head, holding the man effortlessly in the air. The perverted man’s eyes sparked in fear, his legs dangling like a doll’s would.

And then... _snap_!

Thump.

Gone.

Dark eyes that held fright not a second ago now stared vacantly back at Eclipsa, clouding over with the milkiness of creeping death. White bone threatened to poke its way through pale skin resembling that of wax. His neck was tilted at an unnatural angle, body splayed out like that of a puppet whose controls were hopelessly lost and entangled.

Eclipsa knew without a second glance that he was dead. She had dealt with enough death in her life to characterize that.

A single beat of shocked silence, then another _crack_!

Then another thump.

A second body joined the first on the ground, opaque black eyes watching the ground without seeing the ground, harsh mouth pulled open in a frozen ‘o’ of surprise.

The knife that had been held to Luna's throat now rested upon the ground, blood ( _Luna's blood_ ) glittering darkly ( _mockingly_ ) up at Eclipsa.

Eclipsa was unceremoniously snapped back to reality when a small object reminiscent of a tiny freight train rammed into her, and frail arms pulled themselves around her waist, a small body shaking with fear and brutal sobs.

Eclipsa wrapped her arms around her petrified daughter, running shaky hands through her damp hair. The three surviving members of The Tribe scattered, moving as deftly and quietly as particularly frightened shadows.

And within a single blink, the forest was still, silent as it had been before the attack, not like it had just happened, but as though it had never occurred at all.

The only clues around to ever attest to an attempted murder would be a few blood splatters, some muddied footprints and the frightened girl wailing into her mother's dress.

The large creature stepped out of the shadows, amber eyes sparkling with untold amounts of anger and spite. Even with the differences age had brought him, Eclipsa had no trouble distinguishing the red skin, nor the childish gleam still present in his surprisingly kind amber eyes.

So when he stepped towards the mother and her frightened child, cautiously averting the bodies littering the ground, Eclipsa, instead of blasting the monster to oblivion, shot him a relieved grin of the utmost felicity, causing Luna's glossy eyes to regard the new friend with unbidden childish curiosity.

“Hello, Gerald.”

The monster’s lips turned up into a small smile, his large body bowing fondly in return. “Hello, Eclipsa,” he said, flashing the two a toothy grin.

“It's been a long time.”

\--

\--

The second meeting was certainly not as violent as the first.

They arranged to meet once more in the forest, for fear of the nosy royals and their aptitude for gossip and spreading false rumors around the kingdom of Mewni with the pace of a rapid wildfire.

Eclipsa, who embraced change and equally desired some sort of reprieve from her pressing duties, accepted this newly rekindled friendship with open arms.

Gerald, on the other hand, had always been cautious, and even though Eclipsa was willing to sustain their clandestine friendship, he was uncertain.

But the second meeting was planned as Eclipsa and Luna prepared their departure, and what was done was done.

The second meeting held none of the awkwardness as its predecessor, for the two lifelong friends quickly reestablished that comfortable relationship that they had when both were young, naïve children who cared of nothing. They spoke of current happenings and past encounters, of guileless dreams and brutal failures, of things cherished and of things long forgotten. They spoke fondly of Hekatia, even though Gerald never had gotten the chance to properly meet her. Eclipsa told Gerald of the little miracle that had was her Luna, and of the scrawny Earth boy that had stolen her heart all those years ago. They spun tales of monsters and Mewmans and whispered of fears that Eclipsa had thought long buried and forever lost.

And then the friendship pair became a friendship trio.

The Queen of Darkness, The Kind Monster and The Little Princess.

Eclipsa had little to no control over what Luna did in regards to Gerald. The girl took after her mother in the aspect of impulse and great emotion that far overtook logic.

Surprisingly to Eclipsa, following the original encounter with Gerald and The Tribe, Luna developed a fondness for the monster, a deep reverence and respect far greater than any other meager friendship that Luna had experienced.

Little shy Luna, who rarely opened up to strangers and always hid behind Eclipsa's skirts took to the monster quicker than Eclipsa could have ever thought.

The friendship between Eclipsa's daughter and her monster friend was as pure and inexplicable as the original friendship between The Princess Hurricane and The Monster Called Gerald.

Eclipsa was grateful for the bond forged, for it meant quality time with Luna, and quality time with her best friend.

Luna thought of Gerald as a second father; he was her undaunted protector and greatest friend, her everything and anything.

Her endless babbles became about ‘Uncle Gerry’ and when he was coming to visit and the merry gleam in her eyes became all more apparent to Eclipsa when she was to visit her best friend and her daughter's hero.

And from there, the meetings grew to accommodate one more.

\--

\--

“This cannot go on much longer, Eclipsa,” he told her one fateful night. “It is dangerous for you and for Luna.”

Eclipsa flinched. It was always about her and Luna, but it never came to be about him. This was the kindness that she was both fond of and infuriated by.

“But not for you.” The statement was flat, no inquiry, no variations in tone. It was not a question, but a well-known fact.

“I am what I am,” he replied in that matter-of-fact tone that he had perfected. “And you are what you are.”

Eclipsa whirled around quicker than a flutter of a bird's wings, her dark eyes flashing with malcontent. “Don't _ever_ say that again, Gerald. You are in no way worse than I am. Don't even try to pretend.”

In his large red arms, a little child stirred, her pale eyelids fluttering with the threat of waking. Eclipsa immediately calmed, motherly instinct driving her.

Luna's lips pulled into a subconscious smile, and her little hands curled daintily around Gerald's bicep. The monster smiled affectionately down at her, brushing a large clawed hand through the orange tangles. Then solemn amber eyes raised to meet those of Eclipsa. “I am not better than you are, Eclipsa, and I am most certainly not better than Luna. I am a monster, and while this has been…refreshing, there is no place for me in your lives.”

Eclipsa scoffed, rolling her eyes indignantly. “Like hell,” she rebutted. “I haven't seen Luna make any friends like you. She _talks_ about you nonstop, always asking when ‘Uncle Gerry’ is coming over for a visit. She's young and impressionable, and she doesn't understand the stereotypes surrounding monsters. More importantly, _she doesn't care_. And neither do I. We are _friends._ Deal with it.”

And so it was.

The trio fell into silence, three silhouettes upon the hill. One large, one smaller one besides him and the littlest one tightly ensconced in the arms of her well respected hero, blissfully unaware of those lurking in the shadows waiting for the chance to unleash the wave that would lead to the bitter end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was so freaking hard I don't even get it. Ugh, this story's getting harder and harder to write well and make sense at the same time. Hopefully you all like the plot and all the characters as much as I do though, and I appreciate every one of your comments, kudos, bookmarks and views. Keep being amazing you guys.


	17. The Queen of Darkness and Escape

The air was quiet in Mewman castle, deceptively peaceful.

To one, it might've seemed to be foreboding, a slight tension akin to that of a psychopath slinking outside the door, waiting for that one precious moment where he could enter and slit your throat. But to Eclipsa, the quiet was simply that of a slow night with little duties to fulfill and virtually no obligations.

She found him at the window, the light of the moon turning his auburn hair to molten gold. His eyes were surprisingly sad, deep pools of emerald that seem to hold the utmost of grief. His mouth was set in a stern line, as though etched in stone.

When he turned to look at Eclipsa, she wasn't even sure who he was.

He was a stranger to her, jovial light replaced by grief, and compassion replaced by hostility.

A Grecian deity with eyes like solid emeralds and hair shining golden. A vengeful god with razor sharp glares and distrustful solemn lips.

That's when she realized...

Something was wrong. Something was horribly wrong.

She cocked her head in suspicion. Eclipsa did not recognize the meek whisper that came out of her mouth as she spoke his name. “Thomas?”

He said nothing to her, merely turning his harsh gaze back towards the window, as if there were something else out there holding more importance than Eclipsa.

Eclipsa's heart sank with a feeling that she had not felt in a long while, but still managed to creep in and crush her with its intensity. A brutal, raw emotion known simply as _abandonment_.

She stepped towards the window cautiously, clutching her umbrella in a trembling hand. He still didn't turn around.

The repeating whisper was even more desperate, breaking like glass.

“Thomas?”

She could see the hesitance in his posture, the defensive tenseness in his shoulders. Some part of Eclipsa knew that one part of her husband wanted to console her, wanted to hold her like he usually did.

But he still didn't turn around.

Eclipsa let out a single sob. What was wrong?

_Did she do something?_

“Thomas?”

His eyes shut, eyelids concealing tired emerald green, and the man heaved a sigh of the utmost exhaustion. “You've been sneaking out,” he said simply. “Close to everyday now.”

Eclipsa shut her eyes, holding in a defeated sigh that threatened escape. A gloved hand came up to pinch the bridge of her nose. “It's not what-”

He whirled on her then, eyes gleaming with emerald fire. “It's not _what_ , Eclipsa? Huh? There has been talk all around the kingdom of the queen meeting privately with a monster. Tell me, Eclipsa, what does that sound like to me?”

Eclipsa shook her head dumbfounded. “There's been talk? But I don't think-”

“What do you think it sounds like to me?”

Eclipsa fell silent, for the first time intimidated by this stranger with the piercing emerald eyes like vehement flame, and a stern mouth unlike his lopsided smile.

A glimmer of something akin to pain crossed his face at her lack of response, before it descended into stoicism once more. His voice was but a whisper, a gust of wind that threatened to shatter the fragile glass walls that he had built around his heart in defense; a reaction to the trust Eclipsa had mistakenly betrayed. “Fine. You don't have to speak. I understand completely.”

Eclipsa opened her mouth to speak, but he had already turned away, his orange hair glinting like the fire in his eyes.

Desperate for his understanding, Eclipsa snagged his hand, pulling him back.

“Please."

It was the tiniest breath of air, nearly inaudible, but it carried through the nearly silent room like a parade of trumpets.

“Please, you don't understand. That's not our relationship, Thomas. You have to believe me.”

Silence for a slight pause, and then he turned, eyes gleaming with unshed tears and deep sorrow. “I want to believe you, Eclipsa. But I don't know if I can this time.”

Eclipsa shook her head, tears of her own sputtering down her cheeks, ruining the carefully applied makeup. “W-What?”

He shut his eyes, as though attempting to employ the foolish notion of ‘out of sight, out of mind’. “You heard me,” he said solemnly. “I’ve never fully trusted you since you began using that dark magic to taint your soul. You've changed, Eclipsa, and not for the better. Whenever I think I see some small part of the girl you once were, she disappears and leaves me with the woman you've become.”

Eclipsa tightened her grip on her hand when he attempted to remove it. “You...you don't...you don't _trust_ me?”

Thomas shook his head, breath escaping his lips in a whisper. “I wish I could, but I don't.”

Eclipsa's breath hitched, but she could not say nor do anything.

“I'm sorry, Eclipsa.”

Eclipsa's grip tightened further on his hand when he attempted to take leave. “Wait! Please… I am still her,” she pleaded. “I'm still the girl you love.”

He shook his head once more, placing his other hand atop Eclipsa's gloved one. “I lost her the moment the darkness overtook her.” A sad smile touched upon his lips, and he tugged the glove off her hand, his hand slipping from her unyielding grasp. And then he was gone, leaving her like everyone else once did.

Only the darkness glared up at Eclipsa, mocking her with its existence on her forearm. She glared at it instinctively before her walls crumbled, and grief overtook her once more.

Eclipsa fell to the ground in a broken sob.

It was happening all over again.

She was completely and utterly alone.

\--  
\--

The news came not an hour later; Thomas was to send out a search party… and Gerald was to be executed.

It seemed as though he had taken matters into his own hands, no matter just how little he knew of the situation.

Eclipsa searched for him tirelessly after the news had been delivered by way of servants, but she was simply unable to track the elusive king down. Her ears strained for the sound of his voice, probably nearing a state of brutal collapse. Her eyes surveyed every tiny corner of the castle. The library, his room, the kitchen.

All were empty.

He was avoiding her.

Eclipsa wasn't sure which stung the most; the fact that her best friend was to be executed for a misunderstanding, or that the one person she relied on and trusted most was the executioner.

She was sure of one thing though:

Luna was not to know. It simply wasn't an option to tell her.

Her little heart would break with the crushing knowledge and Eclipsa knew that she would do anything to ensure Gerald's safety…

...even place her little body between the gentle monster and the spiteful Mewmans with their pitchforks and torches to make sure they wouldn't harm him.

No. Luna was not to know.

It was a brisk night, and Luna was peacefully asleep. Eclipsa, after hours of tireless searching, took refuge in her own room, watching with discontent as her army marched off into the distance, spears at the ready and orange flickering flames of torches gleaming like fireflies.

She spotted him at the head, his bright hair a dead giveaway to just who he was. Eclipsa felt her heart drop into her throat upon seeing him, the achingly familiar loneliness intensifying like a sinkhole.

He looked certain, dead set on the murderous intent.

Eclipsa shut her eyes, trying to blur out the warlike cries and the barbaric yelling of her Mewman subjects. How little they knew about monsters, and how ignorant they had to be to blindly follow in the footsteps of the unstable king, who was intent on merciless murder.

Gerald was probably hiding, somewhere lost, confused and afraid.

If only she could do something. If only there was something she could do to help him.

Eclipsa's eyes snapped open.

She could help him.

There was something she could do.

A voice whispered inside of her then, sounding suspiciously like her father ( _Go_ , _Eclipsa.)._

Her arm slid off the windowsill and her feet brought her to the door ( _Go_ , _Eclipsa_ ).

She wasn't wanted here anyways. Thomas didn't trust her and no one loved her ( _Go, Eclipsa. You know what you have to do.)_

Luna would be safe; she wouldn't get anywhere near the battlefield. And when this all was over, Eclipsa would come back for Luna, and they'd be a family again.

A family away from Mewni and all its barbarism, lies and ignorance.

Her, Luna, and Gerald.

No rules, no obligations, just freedom.

( _Go_.)

Nothing.

( _Go_.)

She would be _free_. He would be _free_. Luna would be _free_.

_(Go, Eclipsa.)_

The door to Luna's room opened slightly, casting a stream of light upon the sleeping bunch in the middle of the large bed. Luna's eyelids fluttered and her sleepy smile faltered slightly, but otherwise, she gave no acknowledgement of Eclipsa's sudden entry.

The Queen of Darkness brushed a stray orange curl away from her daughter's face, pressing a featherlight kiss to her forehead. Luna smiled, shifting in her sleep, but she didn't awaken.

Eclipsa sighed slightly. “I'll be right back, Luna. I promise.” Her hand touched Luna's, pinky entwining with hers. The queen shook the hand three times, knowing Luna would not approve of anything less.

And then she turned away, brushing a gentle finger across Luna's cheek, in a caressing gesture reminiscent of a slight kiss.

Just as Eclipsa's hand clasped around the door handle, the girl in the bed shifted, producing a small sleepy groan.

Inaudible murmurs and then a groggy, “Mommy?”

Eclipsa paused, turning to face her only child. “Hey Luna.” She whispered fondly, a small smile touching upon her lips.

“What are you doing in here?”

Eclipsa shook her head. “Don't worry about it, lovely. I'm just saying goodbye.”

Luna's eyes sparked in panic. “What? Where are you going?”

Eclipsa was at her daughter's side at an instant, keeping the panic at bay by clasping Luna's small hands within her own. “It's alright, my Stardust. I'll be right back. Mommy just has to take care of some things, alright?”

Luna's eyes filled with tears but she gave a shaky nod. “You're coming back though, Mommy?”

“Yes, dear.”

She held out a hand to Eclipsa.

“Promise?”

They entwined pinkys once more, shaking hands three times. The promise was complete. Eclipsa offered Luna a small smile that she didn't return.

“Promise.” Eclipsa said before she exited her daughter's room.

_(Go, Eclipsa, go.)_

She picked up the pace, knowing her friend's life was at risk each moment she dawdled.

_(Go Eclipsa, go.)_

A few feet and she would be free.

_(You're coming back though, Mommy?)_

A click of the lock, and a groaning creak as the large doors opened.

_(Yes, dear.)_

A breath of fresh air surged into her lungs. Eclipsa welcomed it gratefully.

( _Promise_?)

She began to run, following the trail of orange lights ahead of her.

( _Promise_.)

She had to do this; he didn't deserve to die.

_(Go, Eclipsa, go.)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story's coming to an end, I'm afraid. I think I'm anticipating around three to five more chapters. Anyways, thank you all for taking the time to read my story! I hope you love it as much as I do.


	18. The Queen of Darkness and The Dreaded Confrontation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's intense. All I have to say.

Eclipsa leaned stealthily against a tree, making sure to keep her distance from the advancing army and the man who was leading it ( _Eclipsa ignored the sharp stab of hurt at the thought of him_ ).

She held the umbrella an arm’s length away from her body, silently willing the orb at the very top to pulse with purple light. Deep mahogany eyes fluttered closed, allowing clear thoughts to sweep away any anxieties or possible regrets until there was an empty blankness, a wide open sea infinitely wide and infinitely deep.

Endless night. Endless power.

There was Eclipsa, and there was her magic. Nothing else mattered, no one else mattered. ( _endless night, endless power, endless magic, endless darkness._ )

She needed to concentrate now, there was no time to waste.

Eclipsa focused on the image of her monster friend. She pictured his every characteristic: four amber eyes filled with a gentle calmness; tender hands that ran affectionately through the orange curls of a giggling Luna; a white mane of silky hair, tied back into a messy braid, with a smiling, bright-eyed Luna tying it playfully into a bow.

A deep breath, and then complete and utter silence.

“ _I summon the All-Seeing-Eye_ ,”

The image became clearer, more vivid. Red gleamed crimson, the white blinded with intensity. The image shimmered with imaginary heat, each eyelash darkening, the warm amber turning to molten gold.

“ _To tear a hole into the sky_ ,”

They came and went faster and faster, and faster and faster, and faster and faster, blurring, blurring, but still mind bendingly vivid ( _Gerald laughing at something stupid Eclipsa said; a giggling Luna, her emerald eyes wide with mirth as she tackled her friend; the monster rocking Luna to sleep, and Eclipsa watching protectively over them both; Gerald; Luna; Gerald; Luna; Gerald and Luna…_ )

“ _Reveal to me that which is hidden_ ,”

The light became brighter, brighter, brighter still…

“ _Unveil to me what is forbidden_.”

And then it exploded into a cascade of purple-yellow flames, a whirlwind erupting from the wand only to take the shape of an ovular window. A passageway into the life of her friend, Gerald.

Eclipsa exhaled, allowing the sea to calm, her eyelids parting to rest upon the image of Gerald. He looked to be in some sort of cave, dozing peacefully upon the stone ground. His hair splayed out around his gargantuan figure, chest rising up and down evenly.

Eclipsa frowned. This would not do at all.

She let out a frustrated huff. Seriously, after all the laws she had broken, the treason she had committed just to prevent his death, he was sleeping as though nothing worthwhile was to take place.

The nerve. Ugh.

Eclipsa rolled her eyes. “Are you serious right now? Wake up!”

He didn't respond. Eclipsa rolled her eyes once more. This time with more evident anger.

“Gerald I swear on my mother's grave, you had better answer me.”

He let out a tiny snore, and shifted to his back, eyelids flickering slightly.

“I don't think that's how it works.”

Eclipsa jumped instinctively, whirling her glowing wand around to face the intruder. The purple light revealed none other than impassive magenta eyes and infinitely hairy blue legs, currently crossed indolently. Glossaryk’s magenta eyes flicked down to the threatening wand, then back up to the startled queen. A blue hand pushed the wand down.

“Seriously, my liege, that's not how you intended to use the spying spell.”

Eclipsa relaxed, casting a glare to her former tutor. “What are you doing?”

“What does it look like I'm doing?” The immortal man asked her, his eyebrows wiggling in ridiculously impossible waves.

Eclipsa was not amused. “It looks like you're following me. Must you always be so cryptic?”

The man flipped upside down, his eyes peering up at her from below. “I don't know,” he replied. “Must I?”

Eclipsa huffed indignantly, flailing her hands as she began to stalk away from Glossaryk. “I don't have time for this.” She said impatiently, only to be intercepted by a glowing pink light that pulled her back to Glossaryk.

“Whoa, whoa, Queen Eclipsa, just where do you think you're going?”

She folded her arms, tapping her dainty foot with decreasing patience. “Of what concern is it to you, Glossaryk?”

Glossaryk smirked. “Answering a question with another question. And you say I'm cryptic.”

Eclipsa cried out in frustration. “I learned that from you! And if you must know, I'm going to protect my friend from his imminent death.”

Glossaryk hummed thoughtfully. “Ah, you mean Gerald.”

“ _Yes_.”

“The very same Gerald that acted as your backpack the night of your mother's...ah...demise.”

“That's the one.”

Glossaryk nodded. “Huh, intriguing.” He decided before clasping his hands together. “Well!” He began, “If that's your decision, then I really can't do anything to stop you.”

Eclipsa blinked. “Wait. You're not going to stop me?”

Glossaryk smiled sadly. “No, Eclipsa. I am not. It's your life and your choice. I have nothing to say about it. Like your mother, you have chosen your path. I only wish you the best with the journey down that path.” He touched a little blue finger to her cheek, in caressing mimicry of an affectionate gesture. “You will be fine, dear. Trust me.”

Eclipsa felt a tear trickle down her face. Some small part of her knew inexplicably that Glossaryk meant to say goodbye. Perhaps meaning that she would never again see him ( _she ignored the second pang of abandon, like a dagger twisting her insides_ ). “Oh, alright. Uh...thank you...for all you've done.”

Glossaryk dipped his head in a nod. “You're welcome, Eclipsa. I'll tell Luna you've said hello.”

Eclipsa opened her mouth to speak only to close it again. He was already gone, and she was alone once more.

Silence took its rightful place at her side.

Loneliness’ one solid companion.

\--  
\--

She arrived at the cave soon after Glossaryk’s departure, awakening her friend with a quick jab of her umbrella. He stirred lightly at the poke, dazed amber eyes regarding her with both open curiosity and growing suspicion. 

"Eclipsa?” His voice was cautious, as though afraid of what she had to say. “What are you doing here?”

Eclipsa cast a glance to the cave mouth, her heart dropping as her gaze rested upon the steadily advancing army of flickering orange pulses. Torches of ignorant men led by an equally ignorant king. Eclipsa's hand snagged his arm, trying to pull him from the floor while keeping a vigilant eye upon Thomas’ army. “We have to leave, Gerald. We have to leave _now_.”

He shook his head, eyeing her incredulously. “What? Eclipsa, what are you talking about?”

Eclipsa's attempts to pull him to a standing position doubled in intensity, but the obstinate monster did not budge. “Thomas doesn't understand, Gerald. He doesn't get it.”

Gerald pulled Eclipsa to him, clasping her hand in his large red ones. “Eclipsa! You have to calm down.”

She sobbed once, trying fruitlessly to pry her hand away from Gerald's unyielding grip. “No! No! You have to listen to me! We have to leave! He's after you!”

“ _Why is your husband after me_?”

“He knows about our friendship and he doesn't think the kingdom will approve! We have to get out of here!”

“Where's Luna? Eclipsa, _where's Luna_?!”

She shook her head. “Luna's fine! We have to get her, Gerald. We can all be free from this. We can go to a new dimension. Away from Mewni, away from _everything_!”

“Eclipsa that's-!”

“Halt! In the name of the king, halt!”

Eclipsa froze, deep chocolate eyes wide and frightened. Behind her, Gerald stood to his full height, amber eyes flashing with protectiveness, large arm effortlessly pulling Eclipsa behind him.  
Eclipsa, ever the stubborn one, poked her head around Gerald's waist, watching the scene warily. Her eyes searched for _him_ amidst the growing crowd of angry men, firelight casting ghoulish shadows of indignant scowls upon their faces, but he was not present.

Gerald held his chin high, radiating confidence even though the entirety of the Mewman army wanted him dead.

“Evening gentleman,” he started with practiced composure. “Is there something I can help you with?”

The sea of soldiers parted, dipping down like waves as each individual bowed courteously. And there he was. King Thomas of Mewni.

He bore the impression of a much older man, one set in his obstinate ways and mistakenly cruel ideals. His orange hair matched the fire flickering from the torches, giving the impression of lively flames atop his head. Like a demonic creature out of a hellish dimension. Emerald green eyes hard as solid stone surveyed the cave with an oddly serious intent, a flicker of something reminiscent of pain crossing his face when he noticed Eclipsa tucked safely behind the very monster whom he wanted dead. He wore standard Mewman armor, making his frame larger, _stronger_. Making him appear like a _king_.

King Thomas of Mewni’s mouth twisted into a glower as his sweeping gaze rested upon the monster; he didn't address Eclipsa at all. “You've been caught sneaking around Mewni, monster filth. With my wife and daughter. I have given the order to have you executed under Mewman law. Monsters are not allowed in Mewni. _Especially when they sneak around with my wife_.”

The army snuck closer and closer, scowls growing larger and larger, spears appearing sharper and sharper. Eclipsa tensed as the beginning tips pierced Gerald's skin.

But he did nothing. He merely stood there like the kindhearted giant he was, bearing the brunt of the hatred interwoven into Mewman souls. His eyes gleamed with unshed tears, but he didn't falter, didn't counter attack. He knew what he was and he knew how others perceived him.

He accepted it, no matter how ludicrous the notion was.

Eclipsa, on the other hand, did not sit placidly and allow such actions against her friends.

A slender hand outstretched palm out, radiating purple light that shone upon Eclipsa's face. Her dark eyes gleamed with malcontent, hat casting an eerie shadow upon them. The magical blast was equivalent to that of a small explosion; first the men rose from the ground, eyes wide with fear; then an invisible power shot the Mewman army forcefully away with the intensity of a freight train, leaving the men to barrel into the floor.

Amidst the chaos was none other than The Queen Hurricane, standing in the barren center.

Standing in the eye of the hurricane.

The fallen army turned their frightened gazes upon Eclipsa, not willing to get up for fear of eliciting more anger and undoubtedly more pain. But Eclipsa only had eyes for her husband. And he only had eyes for her.

“Eclipsa,” he stated brusquely. “Step aside.”

Her glare hardened, and she shifted into a defensive position. “No.”

His eyes flashed irately, as though this were any other ordinary time when Thomas had been annoyed by Eclipsa’s stubbornness. "Eclipsa..."

“ _I said no_.”

Thomas’ eyes widened quickly in surprise, before narrowing just as rapidly, deep chasms of emerald fire. He glared at the stubborn queen, and the stubborn queen glared defiantly back. Thomas’ thin patience fractured, his cheeks blooming a rosy red. “You shouldn't be here,” he said in a harsh guttural voice. “You should be back at the castle with Luna.”

Eclipsa scoffed, folded her arms, rolled her eyes. “Like hell,” she hissed in a surprisingly dark tone, one that made Thomas uncertain, and caused the Mewman army to shuffle uncomfortably. “I'm not going to sit placidly while you hurt my friend. You should know better, Thomas; I'm not that prissy queen.”

Thomas nodded solemnly, affirming Eclipsa's statements. His voice was so quiet that Eclipsa had to strain to catch it. And even then, one could never be too sure of what he said. “I know, Eclipsa. I know.”

Eclipsa went silent, unsure what to make of the sudden stalemate.

Because she didn't even know what was to come next.

Her already unyielding grip tightened on Gerald's arm, dark eyes surveying her husband’s every expression, all slight shifts to the air surrounding him. Besides her, Gerald watched her with concern, occasionally flicking his amber gaze to where the king contemplated his next move.

They didn't have to wait long.

His gaze hardened further, as though making a hard decision. The next scene carried out as if Father Time deliberately slowed his domain down. Thomas’ eyes flashed green, narrowing with rapid intensity. A hand extended outwards, path pointing towards the frightened monster behind Eclipsa. His mouth moved in slow motion, teeth baring as his lips shaped those unforgivable words ( _get him. get him now_.)

To Eclipsa, time moved with an achingly snail like pace. She could see every expression on her men's faces, each prejudice and emanating wrongfully placed abhorrence. She could see the wrath in Thomas’ eyes, could see the pain and suffering that drove him to near madness; he really, truly believed that Eclipsa had betrayed him. She could see the movements, the tensing of individual muscles as they pulsed with smooth, agile motions. She could see the beginnings of running as the frighteningly determined army prepared to attack.

Eclipsa could see everything.

She felt her arm extend upwards, the umbrella clasped tightly in her grasp. She could see the words forming in her mind the way they always did. She could feel her lips beginning to form the words, could see the growing light beam as it set the cave alight. She could see the expressions of determination turn to fear, could see them stop their oncoming advance, freezing like stone in their places.

Eclipsa could see Thomas, betrayal crossing his face, replacing the frightening rancor in his eyes. She saw the green light grow brighter, brighter, brighter still. She heard the screams beginning, echoes surrounding her.

The light was growing brighter, brighter.  
Brighter still.

( _What would Luna think, Eclipsa Marie? Huh? What would she say when she figures out how you killed the entire Mewman army? Do you think she'd be happy? Do you think she'd love you? You barely loved me, and you didn't even know about my magic._ )

The light flickered, and the screaming grew more apparent to Eclipsa, beginning to register as cries of _agony_. The light transitioned to white and then green, and then white again.

( _What would Luna do, Eclipsa?_ )

She fought the darkness back, forcing the raging riptides in the infinite sea into smaller waves. She wasn't a murderer.

She wasn't a murderer.

She wasn't a murderer. She couldn't be.

The light flickered more, white dimming down. Her every muscle hurt, her hands were _burning_.

Her hands were on _fire_.

( _Make it stop, please, please make it stop!_ )

Eclipsa's screams joined those of the tortured men, her very soul was _burning_. _Blackening_.

( _I'm not a murderer. I can't be a murderer._ )

“ _Eclipsa_!!!”

Her friend. Her very best friend. Luna's guardian. Her willing protector. Luna's willing protector. He didn't care about himself. Didn't care at all. He only cared about her, only cared about Luna.

 _Gerald_.

“Eclipsa! Stop, _please_!”

Her husband. Her king. He had always been there, had always been supportive, had always been reminiscent of the little scrawny boy of long ago. _Hers_ , her very anchor to light.

 _Thomas_.

She stopped, and the screaming stopped along with her. The umbrella fell out of Eclipsa's hand, and Eclipsa fell along with it.

Her vision was going, going, _gone_.

Everything was black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I can't believe I just wrote that. For any of you who are confused, Eclipsa's subconscious takes the form of her mother because Hekatia took the same role when she was still alive. Eclipsa is not speaking to her dead mother.
> 
> Two more chapters and then we done. Cool. Ok bye.


	19. The Queen of Darkness and The Calm Before The Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I lied. There's gonna be two more chapters now. This one's kinda like a prelude so sorry if it's short or like really weird.

" _Mommy_.”

Her eyelids fluttered, every limb feeling like it was full of solid concrete. She was stone, unmoving heavy rock. Everything was pain, everything was agony.

“ _Wake up, Mommy_.”

Somewhere in the depths of her subconscious mind, Queen Eclipsa knew her daughter's voice, reacted to it as though her senses instinctively made the distinction. Somewhere in the depths of her subconscious, Eclipsa was stirring, becoming increasingly aware of her condition.

She could feel the soft ground beneath her, taking the form of downy blankets. She could hear light, even breathing besides her, and the steady _tick-tock, tick-tock_ of a clock. She could feel a light pressure upon her hand, a warmth embedded in a few tiny fingers. As her eyes fluttered open to reveal the surroundings at last, Eclipsa's senses grew startlingly clearer, as if the last puzzle piece had finally fit perfectly into place.

The first thing she noticed was the familiarity of her room.

Her vanity, her mirror.

Her bed curtains, her open windows.

Her haphazardly painted walls, her various books that she had yet to open and scan the many pages.

The second thing she noticed was infinitely more important, and it took the form of a slight girl of about eight, with shining emeralds for eyes, a nest of orange curls and lips currently pulled up into a relieved smile. A smile that held a fraction of heat, like a bright star.

 _Luna_.

The name passed unbidden through Eclipsa's turbulent thoughts, calming where it touched. She was here. She was safe. She was here. She was safe.

 _Luna_.

The word came with an electrifying jolt of affection, as though repeating it could ward away all problems, could dissipate all ill ridden thoughts of abandon and transient love.

 _Luna_.

Innocent, pure Luna. Her child. Her Stardust.

Eclipsa felt her lips curl into a genuine smile for what seemed to be the first time in a long while. Luna grinned wholly back, her eyes sparkling with sweet uninhibited relief. “Uncle Gerry! She's up!”

Her vision was suddenly encompassed by a large red head, and soothing amber pools of compassion. His mouth twisted into a displeased frown as he took in Eclipsa's current state, and he folded his thick arms in disapproval. His gaze flicked to Luna, where it softened like butter in the midday sun. “So she is, Loony Luna. Would you be a dear and fetch me a chocolate bar, please?”

Luna's cherubic face lit up, and she flashed an innocent smile to Gerald. “Yeah! Yeah, that's a good idea!” Her mouth turned into a frown, as though suddenly remembering something important. Her eyes hardened playfully. “And don't call me that.” She added as an afterthought.

Gerald smiled but he didn't respond, and Luna skipped away, presumably to honor Gerald's request.

When she was gone, Gerald's eyes hardened, and the disapproving look returned. He looked at her pointedly, as if he expected her to speak first. Eclipsa sighed and shifted her weight, attempting the gargantuan task of sitting up. Her body lanced with a sudden stab of pain, leaving Eclipsa gasping and falling back to the bed. “What?” She whimpered softly. “Why can't I move?”

Another jab of pain shot through her body. Eclipsa bit her lip hard in an attempt to stifle the cry.

Gerald's eyes softened, and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Your spell took a physical toll on your body.” He explained. “I guess that's what you get for attempting to murder your entire army.”

Eclipsa flinched, and then masked the pain with brusque snark. “Oh, come now,” she said cynically. “They were trying to kill you, what else could I have done?”

He glared at her. “It's not a life for a life, Eclipsa.”

She glared defiantly back, somehow appearing threatening from her position amidst the mountains of pillows, blankets and stuffed warnicorns ( _she wouldn't put it past Luna to have placed her entire stuffed collection upon Eclipsa's bed_ ).

“Well they're not dead, are they? I stopped the spell in time.”

Gerald went silent, turning away from Eclipsa.

Her heart sunk. “Gerald?” She whispered, suddenly ripped of all the defiant pride that she used as a mask. “They're not dead are they?”

He still didn't respond, letting Eclipsa fit the puzzle together ( _screams of agony. Eclipsa, stop!! Eclipsa, stop, please!!! the green light, blinding, blinding, blinding. brighter, brighter, brighter still. make it stop, Eclipsa!!!! make it stop!!!! the spell’s deadly conclusion. her demise. their demise. no more screaming._ )

“No.” She gasped, mental pain and physical pain fighting mercilessly for attention. Both equally stifling, both equally overwhelming. And still, all she could say was, “no.”

She couldn't have. She wouldn't have.

She wasn't a murderer. She _couldn't be a murderer._

_No. No. No. No. No._

“ _No_!” She sobbed. “ _No, no, **no**_!”

 _No. No. No. No. No_.

A hand touched her arm. Eclipsa flinched away.They were dead. They were dead.

“Eclipsa..."

“ _ **No**_!”

She curled in on herself, sobs wracking her entire body as tears flowed unbidden down her face. The faces of her men, images that had previously been associated with hatred, and wrongly placed prejudice, returned with full force. But they now took the image of little boys with innocent smiles, much like Luna's. She had known them since they had first signed up for the Mewman army, had hand drafted them by Thomas’ side.

Oh, no.

( _Eclipsa! Stop, **please**!_ )

 _No_.

( _Eclipsa!!! **Stop!!!**_ )

_Oh, god, **no**._

( _A kindhearted boy with a toothy grin and a head of auburn curls. Deep emerald eyes that sparkled with the intensity of a thousand suns. “ **Do you always explode your chocolate cake before eating it?** ")_

Thomas.

 _Thomas_.

Oh, please _no_.

 _Thomas_!

“Gerald.” Her voice was deceptively calm, the calm before the storm. He looked at the tear ridden queen, hunched over as if to protect herself from herself. She looked back at him, unable to keep the familiar image of Thomas out of her mind.

“Yes, Eclipsa?”

Her eyes flashed with sadness, and unholy grief. The voice that escaped her was the whisper of a child, afraid and broken. “Where’s Thomas?”

Her answer had not been what she was expecting at all. “He's fine, Eclipsa. He may be out for blood, now that the Mewman army is dead, but your spell did nothing to him.”

The uninhibited relief that swept through Eclipsa was enough to keep some physical pain at bay. She relaxed, placing her head back upon the pillow. Deep breath, deep breath. Thomas was fine. He was going to be fine. Gerald’s sweeping gaze watched her pitifully.

“But he's still out there, Eclipsa. What makes you think he still loves you after all you've done?”

Eclipsa took a sudden interest in her clasped hands. “I don't know.” She said softly, some of the initial relief of Thomas’ survival wearing off. “I really don't know.”

He smiled sadly, concealing her small hands with one large red one. “I'm sorry, Eclipsa,” was the soft whisper that came from Gerald. “It's sudden and you're not in the best shape, but we need to make a plan. He's going to be here-”

Gerald was unceremoniously interrupted with a sound slam of the door, and a boundless little blur that soon took the form of a child. “I'm _back_ , Uncle Gerry! I got a Snookers for Mommy!”

Eclipsa and Gerald exchanged glances of unease, and the not-so-idle chat about Thomas’ potential reaction ceased abruptly. Luna, naïvely oblivious as a small child should be, scrambled deftly on the bed, snuggling her head underneath Eclipsa's arm, and nuzzling her tiny body against her mother's.

Eclipsa draped a protective arm around her daughter's shoulders, pressing a kiss to her head of orange curls, previous discussion pushed resolutely to the back corner of her mind. Gerald's expression was unreadable, his amber eyes oddly opaque. It was also fixated on Luna: something that made Eclipsa slightly uncomfortable.

Instinctively, the queen pulled Luna closer to her, subconsciously putting more distance between her daughter and the monster. “Gerald,” she began with practiced dispassion, casting a glance to Luna. “What time is he coming?”

His eyes darkened, and he gave a brusque nod. Eclipsa was slightly gratified to know that he understood the vagueness of her composure. “In a little while. Maybe ten minutes.”

Luna tugged Eclipsa's sleeve, innocent emerald eyes gleaming up at her. “Who's coming, Mommy?”

Eclipsa shook her head, refusing to look her daughter in the eye. “Hush, Luna. It's nothing you need to worry about.”

Luna frowned, and began tracing idle little patterns atop Eclipsa's knee, devoting her entire attention to her newfound activity. Eclipsa knew her daughter well enough to know that Luna's boundless curiosity was not satiated in the slightest, and that she was simply doing anything to distract herself from asking more questions.

Eclipsa relaxed slightly, but only slightly.

She turned her solemn gaze towards Gerald. “So what should we do?” A nonchalant gesture to the princess. “We can't just...” The last part was a whisper, incomprehensible to even Gerald's acute senses. Luna’s heavy features tilted into a perturbed frown.

Fortunately for Eclipsa, the monster was no idiot, nor was he oblivious towards Eclipsa’s wants and preferences. Gerald shook his head, his eyes clearing. It was one of those rare moments when she could read him completely; magic held nothing to the amazing instinctual anomaly that was intuition. If she wanted to, Eclipsa was certain that she and he could have a full on conversation without uttering a single word.

Now, however, he conveyed an aura of calm, and his eyes seemed to say, _Don't worry, we’ll get her out of here._ He offered Eclipsa a shaky heartfelt smile, one that she didn't promptly return.

She was still in danger, and by being with Luna, she had thrust her daughter into the very same mess that she was in. A crossroads, an uncertain future, a diverging path.

Certainly Eclipsa wouldn't be queen of Mewni anymore, but what would happen to Luna?

Would Luna be queen?

Eclipsa shuddered, tucking her child absentmindedly closer. No. That was not an option. No matter what, Eclipsa wouldn't allow her eight year old child to ascend the throne and take on all the things that Eclipsa abhorred.

It simply wasn't happening.

“We leave in five minutes,” her low stoic voice carried easily through the heavy silence of the bedroom, pressing in its solemnity. “Luna stays with me.”

She was met with two very different reactions, both startlingly opposing, but oddly similar. Neither same nor opposite. Luna was oddly quiet, her hand coming up to gently caress her mother's glove. Emerald eyes the same shade as Thomas’ stared with uninhibited curiosity up at Eclipsa. Gerald didn't react as Eclipsa initially thought, his expression blank and unreadable. He looked guiltily upon the mother and daughter, amber eyes indiscernible and unmoving.

They were both silent, and so Eclipsa made the first move, gently prying Luna off her aching form, and pulling herself out of the bed. Unfortunately for the dauntless queen, the impact of The Unutterable Spell was much to bear, and it left Eclipsa virtually helpless.

As you can possibly imagine, the attempt to stand promptly failed, ending with Eclipsa lying on the floor of her room, and a panicked duo racing immediately to her side.

"Eclipsa?!"

"Mommy?!"

She was met with the unfamiliar sensation of flying, and then falling a mere heartbeat later, landing none too gently upon what seemed to be a warm red carpet, hard and strong. Two hands wrapped themselves around Eclipsa, and her blurry vision struggled to make out the form of Gerald, and a smaller shape with a tuft of orange hair at his side.

 _Luna_.

" _Mommy_!"

Vaguely, she assumed that spell had ought to have had its pros and cons. The cons were obviously more prominent than the pros, and they were most definitely more catastrophic. Did The Unutterable Spell even have pros? Eclipsa didn't think so.

"Mommy-!"

“Come on, Luna. We have to go now.”

Her eyelids fluttered, some small part of her registering that her monster friend had spoken to her daughter. But that part of her was so small, a mere speck in the endless oceans. It was easily discarded, and Eclipsa was lost once more.

“Where are we going?”

She instinctively reached out to the shape before her, fingers brushing against a face. “Luna.” She managed in a croak as her vision began to clear.

The girl’s face sharpened from the blur it had been, and her swirling green eyes sparked in happy surprise. “Mommy!”

She realized with growing discomfort that she was riding piggyback on Gerald's back, her legs dangling helplessly, Luna appearing the size of a small toddler. She inwardly groaned.

Great. Now she was a helpless little bitch.

“We have to leave, Eclipsa. Quickly. I don't want you getting any more involved than you already are.”

Her voice was solemn, that of someone tired beyond their tears. “I'm already involved. I just don't want Luna paying for my crimes. Luna, dear, come up with Mommy. We need to go, sweets.”

Her little arms struggled as they managed to pull the small body upon the monster's giant back, legs kicking wildly as they made the perilous journey that was her huge friend. When she was safely aboard, Luna's scrawny arms tucked carefully around Eclipsa's waist, her heavy head resting exhaustively on her back. Eclipsa turned and pressed a small kiss to her child's nose, watching with some small residual amusement as it scrunched adorably.

“It'll be alright, My Stardust. It'll be alright soon.”

The child didn't answer, but tightened her grip on her mother as the monster leapt from the open window, landing deftly on his feet. Luna remained silent as Gerald took off in a sprint, his heavy feet pounding into the ground.

She only opened her eyes when the monster came to a crashing halt, and the voice of her father carried with stoicness to the trio, baritone tones both achingly familiar and shockingly strange.

“Hello, Eclipsa.”


	20. The Queen of Darkness and Her Last Stand

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!

She had grown up with him. She had been with him for twenty-three years.

Everything about him was familiar. The stubborn set of his jaw, the light dusting of freckles upon his cheeks, a cascade of rusty curls just barely brushing his small shoulders. The jeweled emeralds that were his eyes, pools of soothing green when calm, sparks of light when elated and pillars of infinite fire when angry.

She had grown up with him. She had been with him for twenty-three years.

And now, Eclipsa Marie Butterfly had lost him forever. Whether due to her own lust for freedom or her impulsive act of protection, she was the ultimate betrayer and the rancorous thief that snatched away the Thomas she had loved, leaving behind this shell of familiar stranger that possessed some aspect of Thomas’ features ( _perfect lips drawn into an impassive line, eyes hard as emerald stone; an expression she had never seen on him before, face like solid marble, a proud statue of a righteous god_ ).

So as she sat there upon the back of the four-eyed monster, her greatest friend and bravest protector, she felt only a dull sort of acceptance. For Eclipsa had long since come to the morbid realization that every single person that could ever love her would inevitably slip right through her tiny little fingers.

She would tear through any sort of a relationship; any minuscule bond formed, she would destroy.

Thomas with his sensitivity and his misunderstanding idiocy.

Gerald with the rooted prejudice and Eclipsa's foolish, foolish actions. Actions fueled by a desire to change, a pressing need to do something else other than sitting around and looking pretty.

Queen Hekatia the Necromancer, and the transient bond they had shared even if only for a night. Hekatia had always been absent, but she had become absent in the literal sense that one fateful night of her greatest error. She rendered Eclipsa alone for not the first nor the last time.

Even Luna would eventually come to hate her for all that she was. Would come to loathe the murderer that was her mother, darkness incarnate. She would fade slowly, Eclipsa decided. Sluggishly but inevitably, the little girl would grow, mature into a young woman with morals and her own beautiful life stretching before her. And Eclipsa would forever remain that dark stain upon Luna's life. That constant blot of black marring her daughter's soul. She would come to hate Eclipsa. It was only a matter of time.

That is, if Thomas allowed her to live.

Which at this rate, was highly unlikely.

He stood proud and strong, skin completely unblemished, even though Eclipsa had cast The Unutterable Spell. He carried with him an air of the utmost repose, an undaunted light gleaming in those unfamiliar familiar eyes of his. Besides him was no one and nothing. There was only him. The solo king of Mewni courageously facing a duo of betrayers to the throne.

His eyes swept the scene, taking in Eclipsa's disgruntled appearance, Gerald's sudden tensing, and eventually, Luna's frightened eyes peering from behind her mother's back.

His stoic demeanor melted when he spotted his only daughter sitting behind the wife that had so wrongfully betrayed him.

“Luna?”

Her head of rusty curls, identical to those of her father, slowly but surely peeked to face him. Her voice was unnaturally tense, a scared whisper of wind. “Hi, Daddy.”

His gaze hardened as it shifted to Eclipsa. Eclipsa, though fatigued beyond any other time, glared defiantly back, pressing her daughter closer to her side. She aspired to convey an aura of challenge, as if daring him into attempting to steal Luna from Eclipsa's clutches.

Judging by the reddening of his face, and the hands by his side now clenched into indignant fists, Eclipsa inferred that her aspirations came to fruition.

They remained at a stalemate. The monster, the dark queen and the child princess facing off against a king driven to near madness because of something he believed Eclipsa to have done.

“Eclipsa,” he began brusquely. “Leave Luna out of this.”

The answer was immediate. “No. She stays with me.”

“And what do you plan on doing? Running away? You can't hide forever, Eclipsa, especially after what you did.”

“‘ _What I did_?’And what exactly did I do, Thomas?”

Silence for a quickened heartbeat and then a quiet, “I can't believe you actually want me to say the words aloud.”

“Say them.”

“Eclipsa…”

“ _Say them, Thomas._ I want to know just how little you think of me.”

“You _know_ what you did!”

“ _Say_ _it_! Right now!”

His eyes flashed a malignant green, and they flicked to the monster below Eclipsa before returning to his wife. She had never seen him like this. He looked like a deranged lunatic.

“You fucked him.”

That did it.

It went downhill quickly after that. Eclipsa could easily say that she lost whatever thin amount of patience that she possessed.

The words escaped her in the form of an animalistic snarl ( _I_ _did_ _**not**_!!), and then her blackened hand was facing him palm extended out. The words that uttered from her mouth were unspeakable, blackest of black; inky darkness beyond anything Eclipsa had ever uttered.

She saw red. She saw black. She saw _death_.

She was

_(Eclipsa Marie, no, no. This isn't you. You wouldn't hurt him. Think about who he is. Think about who you were. Think about who you are. The darkness has taken you, my child. You need to break free!)_

unstoppable.

_**(Eclipsa! The power is unbelievable! You feel-you are- unstoppable! Don't listen, Eclipsa. Fight. Darkness is a part of you now. This man is not your husband. Not anymore. Not after what he accused you of.)** _

_She was death._

“Eclipsa, no!”

“ _Mommy_!”

“ _Ahhhhhhhhhhhh_!”

He was writhing on the ground, small red boils erupting from his skin, unnatural black liquid reminiscent of hot tar oozing out of the wounds slicing themselves upon his skin. “ _Ahhhhh_! _Eclipsa_ , _**no**_!!!”

_(Stop this, Eclipsa Marie. Remember who you are.)_

_**(You know who you are, Eclipsa. Kill him. Kill them all. Make them all suffer.)** _

“Mommy, no!!! Daddy!”

_**(She would grow to hate you eventually. You knew. You knew what you were, what you were capable of. She doesn't understand and she never will.)** _

_“Mommy! Stop!”_

_“Eclipsa!!! This isn't you! You wouldn't!”_

She didn't let up. The words repeated once more, more boils appearing, oozing black blood covering the entirety of his face. He looked like plague. He looked like pestilence.

She was _fear_.

( _ **Good**_ …)

She was _darkness_.

_**(Give in, Eclipsa. Give in…)** _

_She was death._

A green lightbeam pulsed from her hands, like a living being. It would all be over soon ( ** _Yes, yes. Do it. DO IT NOW!!!)_**

And then the simplest thing happened, a small lighthouse erupted in the middle of the great dark sea of inky black.

His eyes opened, chasms of emerald green staring agonizingly up at her. Lips shaped her name. A trembling hand covered in red boils and black blood reached out for her.

And he looked at her.

_(“Do you always explode your cake before eating it?”_

_Eclipsa turned, amused and infuriated by the audacity of whomever was speaking to **The** **Princess** **Eclipsa** in such a manner._

_She was immediately disappointed to find that the perpetrator was a scrawny little boy, no older than her age of fifteen. Curious but calculating emerald eyes studied Eclipsa, from the chocolate laced curls, to the hat perched atop her head. Eclipsa wasn't exactly sure why, but something about the way this odd little boy stared at her made Eclipsa extremely uncomfortable._

_She masked it effortlessly with brusqueness, crossing her arms protectively ( **but** **curtly** ) across her chest. _

_“So what if I do? What's it to you, anyways?”_

_The boy smiled slightly, as if this response was exactly what he was expecting from Eclipsa. Eclipsa internally scoffed. She wasn't that predictable.  
The boy’s head dipped in an affirming nod, his carrot orange hair ruffling with the motion. “I take that as an introduction. My name’s Thomas. And I am delighted to meet you, Princess Eclipsa Marie.”_

_Eclipsa corrected him absentmindedly. “It's just Eclipsa.”_

_Thomas’ lips pulled up in a smirk. “Of course, **Just** **Eclipsa**. My apologies.”)_

He _looked_ at her.

_(Eclipsa was annoyed and upset to hear footsteps following her as she flew through the various twists and turns of the castle. A hand yanked her back, and Eclipsa pulled instinctively away, not willing to trust this odd boy with the uncanny ability to see inside of her soul._

_“Eclipsa! If I said something wrong...I'm sorry.”_

_Eclipsa didn't look at him. “How did you know? All those things about me?”_

_Thomas was silent for a heartbeat, but he didn't encroach on her personal space, keeping professional distance away from the unstable princess. “I had a sister...she was kinda like you.”_

_Now Eclipsa looked at him, having a vague idea of just where his sister was now based on his unusually solemn tone._

_“Where is she now?”_

“ _Dead_.”

_“I'm sorry.”_

_A cynical smirk spread across his face. “I think that's the kindest thing you've ever said to me.”_

_Eclipsa's lips pulled into a scowl. “Don't push it.” She growled. “You're still a nosy little pus bag that had no business assuming those things about me.” Her eyes softened imperceptibly, but judging by the way Thomas blushed, she knew he saw it._

_Thomas was a noticer._

_“But you're not all bad,” she continued. “You're just annoying.”_

_He smirked. “That's the Eclipsa I know.” And then the stupid **stupid** little boy kissed her chastely on the cheek, atop her little red spade, running away like the scrawny little coward he was._

_Eclipsa turned as red as her spades. “Not funny!”_

_“It wasn't meant to be funny!” Came the amused call. “I'll see you around, Just Eclipsa!”_

_Eclipsa frowned, pulling her arms around herself._

_Damn this ball and damn Stupid Thomas of Earth.)_

He looked at Eclipsa, with an uncanny amount of betrayal, and still a barely perceptible trace of love.

_(“Let go of me! **Let** **go** , **I** **said**!”_

_“Eclipsa?! What's going on?”  
_

_She stopped crying immediately, lifting her tearful gaze to look into inquisitive emerald eyes and a pair of lips pulled into a worried frown.  
_

_The princess only grew more irritated_.

_“Get **off** of me, Thomas!”_

_She pushed him away from her, spinning on her heel to run the other way._

“ _Eclipsa_!”

_She ignored him, running faster when hearing his pounding footsteps racing after her._

_**“Leave me be!”** _

_Apparently, Thomas was quicker than Eclipsa, for he caught up to her within seconds, wrapping his arms inhibiting around her waist, lifting the irate girl off the ground._

_Eclipsa fought him mercilessly, digging her teeth into his arm, kicking her feet petulantly, crying out in lamenting pain and uncanny rage._

_But still, Thomas did not relent his hold on her, and eventually, Eclipsa's struggles slowed, her kicks becoming less frequent, indignant cries becoming more and more like suffering sobs._

_Thomas shifted his position, tugging the grieving girl into his chest, wrapping his arms protectively around her. Eclipsa sobbed harder, clutching his arms with her tiny hands and inhaling his unique scent of pine and firewood. He brought up a trembling hand, cupping Eclipsa's head._

_The sobs became whimpers, and Thomas’ hands came up to run comforting circles upon her back. She didn't know what came over her, but something inside of Eclipsa starved for any type of contact._

_And Thomas was here, he cared enough to console her._

_Eclipsa was sure no one cared as much as Sir Thomas The Annoyingly Persistent._

_So when her voice finally made its way out from its prison, it was meek and scared. No wonder Thomas was perturbed; he had only seen the side to Eclipsa that abhorred any type of pity._

_“Will you...will you stay with me?”_

_Thomas tightened his grip on Eclipsa, and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. She snuggled deeper into his chest in response, and heaved a shaky sigh._

_Thomas’ chin rested atop Eclipsa's head, and she could feel the vibrations of his voice when the answer finally came._

_“Always.”)_

Always.

_(“This is our daughter, Thomas.”_

_He knelt down to glance at the little baby ensconced tightly in Eclipsa's arms, her little chubby hands holding Eclipsa's hand in a death grip._

_Thomas tilted his head inquiringly, before brushing a hand through the little princess’ head of cherubic orange curls. He chuckled lightly. “Too bad she got my hair. Yours would have been way cooler.”_

_Eclipsa's rare heartfelt laughter filled the halls of the nursery, capturing it in happiness and hope. “Yeah right,” she chided softly. “Mine is green, Thomas. At least orange is pretty.”_

_His arm snaked around her middle, lips pressing a playful kiss to the top of her green curls, then moving to kiss the baby. The baby stirred slightly, her eyes fluttering a small bit. Eclipsa smiled, never having felt so proud of something in her entire life._

_The baby gave a wide yawn before her eyes opened, revealing deep chasms of emerald that looked curiously into the unfamiliar faces of her parents. Eclipsa's smile diminished._

_Thomas’ grin widened. “Ha! She has my eyes, dear. I guess I have the better genes!”_

_The Queen of Darkness elbowed her husband none too gently in the ribs, eliciting a grunt and a glare laced with pain. “What the hell, Eclipsa? Must you always be so abrasive?”_

_She smirked, pressing her lips gently to his. “Yes.”_

_He pulled back with the grin still on his face, then turned his attention to the child once more. “Alright, Eclipsa,” he began. “What do you want to name her?”_

_She frowned at him. “I have to choose?”_

_A disbelieving laugh. “Well, yeah! Isn't it Mewman tradition for the queen to name the future heir?”_

_“That's stupid.”_

_“No it's not. It's tradition.”_

_“Since when have I adhered to tradition?”_

_Silence and then, “Good point.”_

_She glared at him playfully, a smirk lingering on her lips. “Besides, I know you already have a name for her.”_

_Thomas blinked. “How did you know?”_

_Eclipsa smiled. “Because.”_

_Thomas groaned, apparently realizing that Eclipsa's stubbornness was not going to let up. “Alright fine. I had a name.”_

_“Great! What is it?”_

_“It's stupid.”_

_She scoffed. He took a sudden interest in his feet._

_She glared at him. He grew afraid._

_“Thomas…”_

_“Fine! Fine! It's Luna.”_

_“Luna?”_

_He looked up at her, eyelashes partly concealing the emerald green. “Yeah. Is that too stupid?”_

_“No way. I think it's perfect.” The infant yawned again, tucking her little head into the crook of Eclipsa's arm. “Little Luna. Princess of Mewni.”_

_Luna smiled.)_

All was still, all was silent. Thomas had stopped moving; his eyes still locked upon the darkness that had become his wife. A startled gasp from Eclipsa, and then the pulsing green light was replaced by a glowing golden light: healing magic.

He shut his eyes, relaxing on the floor. The boils were shrinking, gashes knitting themselves together.

_Please, please let him be alright. Please, please don't take him away._

Her limbs were growing heavy once more, light magic and dark magic fighting mercilessly for control. Her vision was fading, the colors melding together, blurring like a poorly done watercolor painting. The one color she could discern was the green of his eyes when he opened them yet again.

It was the last thing she'd ever see.

  
\--  
\--

Eclipsa awoke tired, hungry, annoyed, upset. She also woke up in her room, underneath the covers and silk sheets as if none of this had ever occurred

_(screaming, screaming, screaming. Eclipsa no! screaming, screaming, screaming. **Eclipsa** , **yes**. no, Mommy! Daddy! boils, red, black, darkness, blood. her soul blackening, cracking, like coal. no, Mommy!!!)._

Except that it had. And Eclipsa was still a murderer.

Her eyes snapped open, and the covers immediately flew off the bed, courtesy of Eclipsa's magic. In a mere heartbeat, she was at her closed door, jiggling the handle mercilessly. But to no avail.

She was locked inside.

“Shit!” Eclipsa hissed, eyeing the door warily before beginning to pound on it.

“Thomas? Luna? Gerald?”

Nothing.

“Hello?”

Crickets.

“Hello?!”

She paused. Still nothing.

_“Hello?! Is anyone there?”_

The lock clicked, and the door opened, a head of rusty curls and serious green eyes staring back at her. As he entered the room, Eclipsa's blackened heart sunk with grief, and she scrambled back to her bed, almost unwilling to face him after all she had done.

He eyed her with an odd mixture of wariness and sadness, taking a seat at the end of her bed.

Thomas stared at Eclipsa.

Eclipsa stared at Thomas.

He cleared his throat awkwardly, a flash of pain crossing his face before it descended into stoicism once more.

“Where’re Gerald and Luna?”

He didn't look at her. “None of your concern.”

She saw red. “Like _hell_ ,” she snarled petulantly. “Where are they?”

Now he looked at her, with melancholy green eyes of someone three times his age. A burden he shouldn't have been dealing with. Eclipsa fell silent, and Thomas opened his mouth to speak. “Luna's fine. Gerald's dead.”

A hitched gasp. “ _What_?”

“You heard me, Eclipsa. He couldn't have been allowed to live. Monsters don't belong in Mewni.”

“And _murderers_ do?” She lept up, racing for the door, only to be ensnared in Thomas’ iron grip. Immediately, the struggle ensued, and Eclipsa began fighting.

“Eclipsa…”

“ _No_! _No_! _No_! He didn't do anything wrong! We didn't do anything! Why him? Why not _me_?! I'm already broken, Thomas! I'm more of a monster than he ever was!” Stifled sobs wracked her petite form, spontaneous jerks and thrown punches gradually fading, leaving her as motionless as a rag doll. “I'm the monster, Thomas. Not him.”

He set her gently back on the bed, but made no move to contradict her statement. Nor did he comfort her. “He sacrificed himself so that you could live. Honestly, your actions against Mewni deserve death.”

Eclipsa looked at him silently, waiting for him to continue.

“But I don't think I can kill you, Eclipsa. I don't think I could ever kill you.”

“You should,” She whispered. “I'm dangerous to Mewni, to Luna, to you.”

He wiped a stray tear from her cheek. “I know, dear. But I won't do it. I _can't_.”

The whisper became a plea. “Please. You have to kill me, Thomas. You have to.”

“No.”

“ _Yes_!”

“ _No_.”

She shook her head. “Then do something else. _Anything_ _else_. I can't rule Mewni anymore and I can't raise Luna. I'm _tainted_. I'm a monster.”

“Eclipsa…”

“Thomas, please… please…”

He was silent, the dull green of his eyes appearing decades older and centuries too far gone. But he nodded tersely.

\--  
\--

 _Knock knock_!

She waited for a split second and then came the gentle, “Come in!”

Eclipsa peeked her head into her daughter's room, searching for the little girl with the rambunctious curls and the small smile. Instead of what she had been expecting from the sunny child, she got the opposite.

Quiet, shiny tears ran down her face, and little legs were pulled into her chest as she sat placidly upon her bed, as if she were attempting to protect herself. From what or whom, Eclipsa knew not. The little girl looked up when Eclipsa padded over to her side, unshed tears turning the green glossy. She gave a small sniffle before a hand came up to hastily wipe a stray tear from her face. “Mommy? Is he really dead?”

She fell silent. So this was what it was about. Gerald's death. Eclipsa tilted her head in a slight nod, not willing to say the dreaded words aloud. For the benefit of her and for Luna.

Luna's shiny eyes widened into green saucers and she heaved another heartbreaking sob before digging her head into the small crook of her legs. The sobs grew more and more prominent; they began to shake her tiny body to the point of resembling mini seizures.

“B-b-but _why_? He didn't d-d-do anything wrong, Mommy!”

Eclipsa set a hand on her daughter's back, tracing comforting circles upon it. “I know, sweetie. I know.”

“And he was so nice!”

“I know, Luna. I miss him too. But hey,”

She looked up tearfully into her mother's eyes, hope returning to her own. A sniffle and then, “What?”

Eclipsa smiled sadly. “I have a present for you, Luna.”

“A present?”

Eclipsa nodded, telling herself that this was for Luna's own good. She couldn't be her mother. Not anymore. “Yes, dear. It's very special.”

“Let me see!”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, yeah!”

Her heart sank. _Here_ _it_ _goes_. “Alright. Here it is." Luna's attention turned to the umbrella sitting placidly in Eclipsa's lap.

She frowned in confusion. “You can’t give me your wand, Mommy. It's not my time yet.”

Eclipsa stifled a sob, and she nodded slowly. “Yes it is, my Stardust,” she whispered. “It's time.”

Luna shook her head, panic starting to spark in her eyes. “No,” she said obstinately. “I'm not fourteen.”

“I know.”

“But…”

Eclipsa hushed Luna with a simple finger upon her lips. “Luna, you _know_. Don't try to fight it, darling.”

Tears started forming once more, and the sniffles intensified. “What?”

“I'm going away, Luna. I'm sorry, but this is the way it has to be.”

Luna glanced at the umbrella, and took it in her hands. The umbrella transformed immediately, morphing into a wand with a glowing red flower at its head. Luna studied it solemnly, crystalline tears dripping from her face onto the wand. Her innocent green gaze rested upon her mother once more. “Mommy? Are you going to come back?”

Eclipsa shook her head silently, brushing a tear from her daughter's cheek. Her voice was almost unwilling to speak, a whisper of the wind. “No. No, I'm not coming back.”

Luna's breath hitched in a gasp, and small hands came up as to stifle an escaping sob from her lips. Unshed tears welled in the little girl’s eyes, streaming down her cherubic little face. They turned silver in the glowing light of the moon, and red with the glowing light of the wand.

Eclipsa shook her head, trying to fight back tears of her own. She needed to be strong for Luna. One last time, she had to act like a mother. The image of Hekatia shimmered in her mind, blue eyes like daggers of ice, face a serious immovable mask. She had always been slightly out of reach, a horrible mother to her growing daughter.

And now, Eclipsa thought with a stab of pain, she was doing the exact same to Luna.

So as she pulled her daughter in for a final hug, pressing small kisses to her head, her cheeks, the flowers and the silvery tears, she felt only a dull sort of disappointment.

And when she left Luna sobbing in her room, she thought of the small insolent girl named Eclipsa Marie and the absent Queen Mother.

Sometimes, Eclipsa truly hates irony.

\--  
\--

It was not Thomas who chose her punishment, but Rhombulus: the crystal forger.

In fact, Thomas didn't seem to want to help at all.

This disheartened Eclipsa and enlightened her at the same time.

So as she entered the place that was to become her eternal prison, Eclipsa looked for him amidst the Magic High Commission.

Lekmet with his demonic wings and spiteful glare.

Rhombulus with his brusque temper and hissing hands.

Omnitraxus in his full form, a cloud of black smoke and a floating skull head, complete with eye sockets that still managed to glare with complete abhorrence.

And finally Hekapoo. The gothic flame woman’s catlike amber eyes regarded Eclipsa as though she were a particularly nasty piece of gum stuck to the bottom of her boot. Her pale arms folded indignantly, and her lips pulled up into an animalistic snarl.

The Commission’s hateful glares did nothing to Eclipsa's solemn mood. She had lost her best friend, her only daughter, her husband and her soul. She cared not about their pitiful little feelings.

\--  
\--

Thomas appeared at last, his eyes shining with unshed tears that could've either represented grief, or anger or quite possibly both.

He said nothing to Eclipsa, but led her through the labyrinth of crystallized monsters ( _just_ _like_ _you_ , _Eclipsa_ ). Some small part of her numbly realized that this was to be her home for the next eternity, but the most prominent thought was guilt. Guilt for Luna. Guilt for her mother. Guilt for Gerald and guilt for Thomas.

It's her fault.

 _Yourfaultyourfaultyourfault_.

Everything was her fault.

Thomas took her hand, as though he sensed her sorrow.

\--  
\--

She shut her eyes, bracing for the impact only to open them when none came.

“Thomas, do it now.”

He shook his head, leaning in to place a transient kiss upon her lips. When he pulled back, he was farther away than ever before, an untouchable being. “Can you believe that after all the horrible things you've done, that I still love you?”

A single tear ran down her face. “No.” She whispered.

Thomas smiled sadly. “Well I do. And I told you we would work this out, Eclipsa. I'm just sorry it had to end like this.”

Her eyes were dry; Eclipsa was done with the tears. “Take care of our daughter.”

He nodded solemnly, and then gave the dreaded signal for Rhombulus to blast the crystal. He did so with an angry glare upon his face, and an oddly pleased gleam in his eyes.

This time, Eclipsa kept her eyes open, looking into Thomas’ green green eyes.

Then nothingness.

Black.

Gone.

They were the last thing she would see for a very long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There'll probably be an epilogue. Thank you all so much for reading my story and if you stuck through it from the very beginning, then you are super persistent. I know there were some chapters that were just plain bad. 
> 
> Hopefully this one is a little better than most. I personally had fun writing this one. 
> 
> :)


	21. Epilogue: A New Beginning

\---  
\---  
\---

_And suddenly, you know._  
 _It's time to start something new,_  
 _And to trust the magic of beginnings_  
- _Meister Eckhart_

\---  
\---  
\---

  
**Time** : the indefinite continued progress of existence and events in the past, present, and future regarded as a whole.

  
\---  
\---  
\---

She is unaware of how much time has passed. The crystal prison is a void, a place where time doesn't exist and everything remains still.

Seconds are years.

Minutes are decades.

Hours are centuries.

Time for the world outside moves steadily onwards. The same languid pace it has always gone.

  
\---  
\---  
\---  
**Thaw** :(of a part of the body) become warm enough to stop feeling numb.  
\---  
\---  
\---

It begins in her chest, then spreads to her head and shoulders until it engulfs the entirety of her torso. The light blinds her initially and all she can see is blue where she has become so accustomed to unfeeling black.

So much so that she has to cover her eyes from the brutality of the harsh light.

The second thing she notices is a stabbing pang of hunger lancing through her entire body, setting each individual cell into motion once more where they had originally been frozen.

It's a funny feeling: after countless seconds, minutes, hours, days; however long she has been trapped in nothingness and numb beyond any sort of consciousness, that after being thawed, feeling is no longer impossible, but startlingly attainable.

\---  
\---  
\---

  
**Naïveté** : lack of experience, wisdom, or judgment.

  
\---  
\---  
\---

The first thought that crosses her mind when she rests her eyes upon the little girl is that the crown sitting atop the curtain of pale blue hair is disproportionate to that of her small head.

She's slight, delicate and trembling. Arms stretched out before her as if to protect herself from whatever the dark queen has to throw at her. The little girl matches the scenery around her.

Blue camouflage.

Pale, periwinkle hair like a silky curtain cascading from her head, a crystal blue heart rod pointed defensively in front of her and innocent, frightened blue eyes that match. The only thing reminiscent of familiarity the little girl holds is the pink diamond markings adorning her cherubic cheeks.

Marks befitting of queens.

How intriguing.

The new queen of Mewni coming to seek advice from someone whose dark reputation surely preceded her.

It went unmentioned just how much Eclipsa hates irony.

\---  
\---  
\---

  
**Undaunted** : not intimidated or discouraged by difficulty, danger, or disappointment.

  
\---  
\---  
\---

The second thing she notices about the new queen was just how well she carries herself, and how brave ( _if_ _not_ _foolish_ ) she must have been to come seeking help from someone perceived to be untrustworthy.

Eclipsa can't help but curiously study the little queen with her unwavering crystal blue eyes and delicate smile laced with iron.

She's certainly an interesting little thing, one that reminds Eclipsa of another small girl with teal curls, dark mahogany eyes and a tenacity to do the opposite of everything she was told.

The only difference between her and this undaunted baby queen is the motives.

Where this child wants to save her entire kingdom, the other wished only to be free.

Where this child is wholly unselfish, the other cannot say that her actions were spurred by the very same selfless desires.

And so Eclipsa cannot help but feel a slight twinge of envy as she gazes down upon this little girl with the untrusting but vulnerable crystal blue eyes and the sweeping curtain of pale blue hair.

Perhaps it is her pettiness that never completely went away that pushes Eclipsa to give her a spell that will do as she desires ( _I need a spell that can destroy something that's...immortal)._

Because, hell, if the world goes to chaos, then just so much the better, right?

_(You have no idea what the magic will do to you, little girl. No idea.)_

After all, she didn't used to be called _hurricane_ for nothing, did she?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! I can't believe it's complete! A thousand thank yous to all of you amazing people who read and liked my story. I loved writing this thing and I hope to write more of SVTFOE in the future. And thanks so much for all the awesome comments; they made me feel so much better about myself and this story as a whole!
> 
> Thanks so much again! And keep being awesome.
> 
> -Nina


End file.
